Code: Alpha Wolf
by Drktigrwolf
Summary: The Lyoko gang is ending the war against XANA once and for all. Is it the end? What happens when Ulrich's dark secret is revealed to him? Will he accept the truth in time to save his friends? Rated for possible crude language. R
1. The Nightmare

**Code: Alpha Wolf**

Chapter 1: The Nightmare

_It was dark…completely dark. There was not even a slimmer of light._

"_Gaawwrrr…let me out!" A voice cried from the darkness._

"_Patience…your time will come, my friend. Soon enough the child will awaken, and you will be free upon your way," exclaimed a soothing voice._

_There was still some growling noise from the creature and it began to pound itself against a force field, which seems to act like its cage._

"_How soon? How much longer…," questioned the creature._

"_Very soon, my friend…very soon. He will awaken, you'll see." explained the calming voice._

"_Excellent…" growled the creature, which had a wide smirk on his face._

_**BAM!**_

I woke up with a jolt from that vision.

"That dream…again…" I huffed.

I cannot really explain what the meaning of this dream is, but I have a feeling that something disastrous was going to happen. I looked at my alarm clock and it was only 5:30. I still had 3 more hours until breakfast, so I decided to let that matter drop and went back to sleep.

"It's only a dream…only a dream."

This was what I kept telling myself as I drifted back to sleep.

**Morning, 8:30**

The night went swiftly by as the morning sun rose. The lights began to stream into the dorm room through the window. Then, I began to stir. It was time to get up if my roommate and I want breakfast in the cafeteria.

"Hey, Odd! Get up! You don't want to miss breakfast now, do you?" I said.

"Urg…10 more minutes, mom!" groaned Odd.

I smacked Odd really hard with the pillow.

"Well, Odd darling. If it's going to be this way, then you can starve until lunch. But you're bound to get up sometime soon!" I shouted.

"Ugh…geez, Ulrich. Keep your cool." exclaimed Odd.

Leaving Odd to prepare himself, I left the room to check on my friend, Jeremie. I wouldn't blame him if he stayed up all night trying to find a way to destroy XANA. I mean…we finally got William back. After a long time battling with XANA to retrieve William, it was nice to have the guy back on our side again. Except for the fact that he had managed to win HER affections… 'Urgh! Why am I thinking about that at this time of day?'

Finally, I got to Jeremie's dorm and knocked on the door.

"Come on in. It's unlock." said Jeremie.

"Hey, Einstein. What's the project now?" I asked as I walked into his room.

"I think I found a way to destroy XANA once and for all." explained Jeremie.

"That's great!" I exclaimed.

"And that's not the half of it!" said Jeremie with great enthusiasm.

"What's that?" I inquired.

"Tell the others to meet me at the factory after school. I'll explain everything then." ordered Jeremie.


	2. The Plan

Chapter 2: The Plan

After school had ended, the gang and I headed for the factory, just as Jeremie said.

"So, Jeremie. What did you find?" asked Aelita.

"I think I might have found a way to destroy XANA and free Franz from the supercomputer!" said Jeremie.

"What?" everyone shouted.

"Get my father back? Is that even possible?" Aelita asked surprisingly.

"This is too good to be true!" shouted Odd.

"So, when can we get started?" asked Yumi.

"I can start up the program tomorrow and we can start the mission right after school." said Jeremie as he started typing some data into the supercomputer.

"That's fantastic! A world without XANA!" exclaimed William.

"But there's a small problem…" said Jeremie.

"And that might be…" I said.

"I need someone to try out this project…you know, as a…"

"Guinea pig?" said Odd.

"Exactly! So, who would like to volunteer?" said Jeremie.

The room grew silent for a few minutes. It seems like no one was willing to volunteer because of what happened the last time.

"Oh come on, you guys. We need someone to test the program, but we can't risk Aelita and William." explained Jeremie.

"I don't think I want to end up with 3 heads this time…hehe." said Odd with a goofy grin on his face.

"Which leaves Yumi and Ulrich. So…who will it be?" asked Aelita.

"I…" said Yumi before she was interrupted by William.

"I think Ulrich should go. He has a better chance of survival than Yumi does." suggested William.

I couldn't say anything at all. I was shocked by that suggestion because…well, it was a ridiculous reason. I balled up my fists and was about to protest when Jeremie said,

"Alright. Then Ulrich, you will test out the program after I transfer everyone onto Lyoko. I need Aelita to activate one of the towers to make this program possible."

With that said, I kept my mouth shut. I couldn't argue with Jeremie in this situation since he worked long days and nights to get this program started. I didn't want to ruin it, just because I didn't want to be the test subject.

"It's curfew for me. I'd better get going now." said Yumi.

"I'll walk you home." said William as he followed Yumi to the elevator.

All of us headed back to the forest through our secret passage underground. As I began to replace the lid over the tunnel entrance, I saw a slimmer of shadow moving among the trees. I didn't want to alarm the others so I calmly told them to head back to the dorms first.

"Where are you planning to go at this time of night?" asked Jeremie.

"Um…I…I was…" I stammered.

"Ohh…Ulrich wants to spy on Yumi and William!" sang Odd with a teasing tone.

"Uh…yea. That's what I was going to do…" I said, trying to play along.

"Alright, but I'm warning you. Yumi's not going to like it." Aelita scorned.

"I'll take my chances. Go on ahead without me, but can you cover me from Jim?"

"Sure, but you'd better come back quickly." said Jeremie.

"Yeah. Okay." I replied.

They began to sprint back to the school as I stood there listening. I searched among the trees again for the shadow. Unfortunately, I saw nothing.

"Must be my imagination…" I mumbled to myself.

As I began to walk towards the school, a shadow charged towards me. Luckily, I blocked it with my right arm, but it caused 3 streak marks on my forearm. I moaned in pain. I seemed like it has claws…sharp ones. Suddenly, I felt blood trickling quickly down, which meant that it had cut me really deep. When I turned around to face the creature head-on, it disappeared. 'This is confusing! What's going on?'

While pondering about this, the pain in my arm surged through me, causing me to recognize reality again. 'I need to clean this wound before it gets infected.'

To make sure that I wasn't going to be attacked again, I scanned my surroundings. Again, it was dark and I couldn't really make out anything from the shadows of the trees. So I decided to head back to Kadic Academy.

With the lack of keen hearing, a cackling laugh was heard from the creature's mouth. It was concealed amongst the shadows of the trees, out of eye's reach. It stared hungrily at the brunette boy, who was running towards the academy. It cackled again with a devious smile on its scaled face.

"I've found you, boy…"


	3. Another Nightmare

Chapter 3: Another Nightmare

_The shadows began to clear away so that the bars of the cell can be seen, but it was still too dark. There was growling in the dark again, but only this time, it was menacing. Along with the sound of the growling, there was a variety of muffled screams._

"_Come to me…seek me, and you will have whatever your heart desires…power…wealth…everything. Come…" the creature growled sinisterly._

_Suddenly, the ground began to shake as foam began to rise from the shallow waters. A yellow light begins to shine about from the foam. It revealed the face of the creature. The beast was monstrous with its razor-sharp fangs and soulless, black eyes. Its fur was a rich, dark brown and it held a form of a massive wolf. It began to smile deviously with its pointed fangs._

"_Come here…boy." It said coolly, but with great speed, it lunged with its mouth wide open._

**BOOM!**

I jolted up with restlessness. This dream was far different than the others. I began to pant and tried to calm my racing heart. 'Scary…'

I began to shift when I felt a throbbing pain in my right arm. I had bandaged it after I got back to Kadic. Luckily, everyone was asleep so I wasn't asked about my whereabouts. The moment I grasped my arm for the pain to stop, I realized that I wasn't in my room anymore.

"Where am I?" I asked as I stood up to check my surroundings.

'This is crazy. Why am I still in the woods? I ran back to Kadic, didn't I? Shouldn't I still be in my room?' I stood there in bewilderment until I heard rustling leaves behind me. I turned around in time to see "it", or whatever IT was…

The "thing" standing before me was a reptilian snake standing on two legs like a human being. 'Now, I know I've got to be dreaming. Snakes don't have legs…I think.'

Suddenly it smiled in a frightening way. "I've found you…" it hissed.

'Creepy…' Though it may seem, my senses were screaming at me to run away from this thing. It seemed to be omitting a malicious aura…very overwhelming. 'DANGER! RUN!'

The creature continued to smile as it began to stalk closer towards me.

'RUN! NOW!' My mind shouted to me, but my body refuses to budge. 'This is bad…'

"Wha…what do you want from me?" I stammered.

"A message…" hissed the reptilian man.

"Message?"

He…'I think it's a he'…chuckled and softly whispered, "He's coming. And if I were you, I would beg for mercy and high-tail it out of here."

"Who…who's 'he'?" I asked the stranger…of course, not wanting to know the answer.

Strangely, the snake-man laughed maniacally. Without a warning, he leaned right in front of my face until we were at eye level. Looking into those snake-like eyes, which began to turn deep black, the snake-man grinned widely.

"You…" he whispered with malice.

**BAM! BEEP BEEP! BEEP BEEP! **

I fell to the floor hard at the same moment the alarm clock went off. I turned the alarm off and stared blankly at Odd, who was still asleep. I was panting from that sudden nightmare. Suddenly, I felt cold sweat precipitating on the back of my neck. 'Dream…only a dream…it's not real…it's not real…it's ONLY a dream…'

As the sunlight shone through the window, it reflected upon a white sheet of paper on the desk, which stated a warning.

"What the…" I whispered breathlessly.

The note was written in scarlet red ink with bolded words:

"**BEWARE. HE'S COMING FOR YOU.**"


	4. Fear and Distress

Chapter 4: Fear and Distress

The day went on normally after breakfast, but I still couldn't shake the shrilling feelings from that night. 'Me…How's it me?'

"Hey! Hey, Ulrich! Earth to Ulrich!" shouted Odd as he waved his hand back and forth in front of my face.

"Huh? I'm sorry. I spaced out for a bit." I replied while mentally slapping myself to wake up.

"You still remember the plan, right?" asked Jeremie with a questioning look.

"Yeah. No problem…Uh, Jeremie? Can I talk to you…in private?"

"Uh…sure…" Jeremie replied.

We walked further from the gang, who were at our favorite bench, before I turned to face Jeremie. I took a deep breath and told him that we should forget the project.

"What? How can you say that?" asked Jeremie with a shocked expression.

"I…I have a bad feeling about this program…it…" I tried to explain to him about the relationship regarding the mission and my dream, but something tells me that he's not going to like it.

'He might think that I've gone delusional…' _Haven't you already?_

'What? Who said that? Was it me?' I thought.

"Ulrich." Jeremie placed his hand on my shoulder, which snapped me back to reality again. "It's going to work this time. I'm sure of it."

I looked into his confident, blue eyes and sighed deeply.

'This is the first time, he's ever been this cocky…and not only that, he's doing this for Aelita…I might as well help him.' _Why? Is he that important to you?_

'Huh? Again?'

I mentally slapped myself. 'Focus!'

"Whatever you say, Einstein." I said with a small grin.

"I better head to Ms. Hertz before she blows a fuse. And Ulrich, it will work. You'll see." He exclaimed with a broad smile.

"I hope you're right, Jer. I really hope so." I breathed as I watched him run in the direction of the science lab.

Prepared to head to my dorm since it's the end of the day, I saw Yumi heading my way, which caused my heart to skip a beat. I stared at her dumbstruck until I realized that she was now before me, talking.

"What's bothering you?"

"Huh? Oh…it's nothing." I said with a sheepish smile.

Yumi looked at me with a raised eyebrow. 'Gosh? Why did she have to do that? And look so gorgeous at the same time?' I mentally shook my head to wake myself up. 'Now's not the time for that!' _Just like she's not yours…_ 'Shut up! Man…I'm really losing it today!'

"Ulrich?" Yumi asked with a sharper tone.

"It's nothing! Really…I'm just…nervous. Yeah. That's all it is….anxiety.

She sighed. "You know. When the choice was between you and me, I truthfully wanted to volunteer myself…but…"

I interrupted her then, "William volunteered me. But he's right. I do have a better chance of surviving this program than you do. Either way, you shouldn't…volunteer yourself…you might get hurt."

She started to rub my hair gently with her hands and my heart raced even faster. If only she knew that no matter how small her gestures may be, they can really melt me inside. I tried to stifle my groan…'Please don't stop.'

"Glad to hear that you're alright. If you need me, call me. Okay?"

"Yea…" I softly answered.

"I better get back to William now. He says that he's taking me home…and my parents are expecting me around this time." She said with a magnificent smile as she turned towards William, who wasn't that far from where we were standing.

I stared longingly after her as she began to close the distance between her and William. 'Please don't. Don't go to him…please…' I pleaded in my mind. Sadly when she reached William, she grasped his extended hand and began to walk towards the gate of Kadic Academy. At that moment for a split second, I saw William grin boldly at me and I knew he was boasting about his victory over Yumi's heart. I balled my fist and tried to suppress a snarl. 'Damn...one day…one day…I'll...' But…seeing Yumi's smiling at William…my rage diminished and I stood there dumbfounded. I could feel myself breaking apart, but I desperately tried to salvage the courage I had left…but I had none. 'If only she knew…' I moaned to myself. _She never will…_ And for once, I had to agree with that mysterious voice.

Once I got to my dorm at last, I stood at the doorway, unmoving. Looking upon my desk, I slowly shut my eyes and tighten them while my face began to pale white.

"No…" I stifled.

On the desk, there was a picture of me and my friends. We were sitting at our favorite bench, looking like the complete goofy friends as we are. But the picture had my face covered in a large red "X". Though this was not what shocked me…it was the note, which stated in the same color ink (scarlet red) and font (bold):

"**AFTER YOU…THEY'RE NEXT.**"


	5. The Mission

Chapter 5: The Mission

Night fell upon the city and everyone was waiting at the abandoned factory, except for William and Yumi.

"Where are they? I told them to meet us here, didn't I?" shouted Jeremie.

"Maybe they're taking their time? You know, enjoying the sceneries." Odd cooed while batting his eyes.

I balled up my fists while Aelita giggled softly.

"Shut it, Odd!" I glowered.

"Ohhh…jealous, aren't you? Well, we can arrange that! Why don't you go out with Sissy, then?" teased Odd.

"Are you messing with me?" I asked angrily as I pushed myself from the wall in which I was leaning on.

"Boys, we're here to get my father back, not to kill each other." said Aelita, standing between. _Killing each other doesn't seem like a bad idea…the voice snickered._

"Geez, Ulrich. Chill. I was just kidding." Odd reconciled coolly.

I continued to deathly glare at him before I averted my eyes to the supercomputer. 'True…it's not a bad idea...but I can't do it.' _Why not? He's right in front of you. _'He's my best friend…and Aelita's right. We're here to save Franz.' _What's a friend? _I allowed that question to seep deeper into my mind and wondered what he meant by that question, but reality caught up to me.

"We should go ahead and start the program." ordered Jeremie.

"But Yumi and William…" Odd argued.

"We don't have time. Let those two flirt with each other for awhile, but we've got a mission." Jeremie interrupted.

I nodded my head in agreement and walked to the elevator. After a few seconds, Aelita and Odd joined me.

"I'm going to send Aelita and Odd to the ice sector first. Ulrich, I'll transfer you next with the programming after Aelita activates the tower." Jeremie said on the intercom.

"Alright! After you, Princess." Odd gladly exclaimed.

"Why, thank you, noble knight." said Aelita with a giggle when she stepped into the scanner. "Bye!"

"See you on Lyoko, buddy!" Odd shouted gleefully.

I raised a thumbs-up before the scanner doors closed. 'Hope they'll be fine…' _They wouldn't be. _'Quit it!' _You know they wouldn't. _

I stood there for a moment, pondering upon that thought. 'No…they'll be fine.' _Whatever you say._

"Ulrich. Aelita just activated the tower. You ready?" asked Jeremie.

"Ready as I'll ever be, Jer."

"Okay."

I stepped into the scanner and prepared myself for the virtualization, but little did I know, my life was going to change…just from that one moment.

"Scanner Ulrich. Scanning Ulrich. Virtualization!"

I felt myself being propelled to Lyoko, but something didn't feel right. Something was…off. When I arrived in Lyoko and landed on solid ground, I noticed that I was actually in the forest sector.

"Jeremie. You sent me to the wrong sector. Jeremie?"

There was no reply. 'Something must be wrong with the communicator.' _No…you're lost. _'What? Lost?' _Gone…_

"Who's talking to me?" I shouted.

'Damn it! This is confusing! What's happening? I'm not really that voice that keeps talking to me, right? It's just my imagination! But this voice…it seems like it's coming…from my head.' _I'm not a voice, you idiot…I'm inside you. _'Inside me?' _As your counterpart. _'What are you talking about? I don't even know you. What are you doing inside me in the first place?' _Haha…no time. Someone's coming. _'Who?' _Don't know…but he's stronger than you. _

Before I knew it, I landed really hard on my back and skidded about 3 feet from where I was originally standing. 'What was that?' _Fight. _'What?'

"Warrior…" said a voice.

The voice had a tone of malice that made my skin crawl…and it emitted this feeling of…death. I slowly turned my head and was shocked by the form standing before me.

"You're…" I breathed.

"It would be a pleasure to kill one of my greatest adversaries here on my territory…but let's see how long you'll last against me. Shall we, Ulrich?" it said with a lethal tone.

'It can't be…he looks exactly like me…' _Cause he IS you._

"What's holding you? XANA's got your guns? Or is it the fact that you can't fight your brother?" he questioned darkly as he grinned.


	6. Brothers' Duel

Chapter 6: Brother's Duel

"Brother?...You…you're my brother?" I shouted.

'This isn't happening. He can't be…' _But he is…_ 'Shut up!' I staggered backwards away from XANA, but I can tell that he was laughing at my cowardice.

"Surprise, isn't it? I'm pretty shocked myself that you didn't know I existed. It breaks my heart."

All I could do was stand and stare at XANA. My mind was racing uncontrollably…actually I didn't know what to think…except that the "thing" inside of me was really irritating me.

"How? How can you be my brother?" I screamed. I was losing it. This is too much…too much to handle. To my surprise, he laughed and then, he turned serious.

"I'll tell you…after you're dead!"

Before I knew it, there were 5 bullet shots on me. The impact caused me to fall backwards and again, I landed hard. I couldn't breathe. The bullets pierced through me, I was losing a lot of blood, and…I was losing consciousness? 'Wait…how's this possible? Aren't I still on Lyoko?'

A large foot was planted heavily on my chest, knocking the wind out of me and increasing the pain.

"Aaahhh…shiii..." I moaned from the pain.

"Enjoying yourself?" XANA asked mockingly.

"Not as much as I'm going to enjoy this!" I puffed as I grabbed my katanas and managed to slash his foreleg.

I saw XANA drew back a few meters away while wincing from the pain. Trying to get up, I prepared myself for another strike. 'If I'm going down, at least I could try to drag him with me…' _Fight! _'I heard you! Now, shut your mouth! I need to concentrate.' Luckily, I deflected XANA's laser, which he fired at me while I was distracted. _Cheap shot. _'Shut… the hell…up...'

I lunged myself at XANA, who also lunged at me. We collided in the middle of the path and continued to exchange blows. After what seemed like an eternity, we finally gained some long distance from each other. I was panting heavily from the exertion, but mostly from the stinging slashes on my body.

"How'd…I…get….here?" I asked.

"Jeremie. He sent you here from the program."

'Then, Jeremie sent me into an unknown trap?' _Right. _'Not helping!'

"Then, Franz isn't here." I whispered.

"He is…as my prisoner."

'Franz's here! Then we can escape…once I find him…' _You can't. _'Would you quit it?' _No…_

I growled to myself. 'Eventually I'll be like the demented people that Odd always watch in those scary movies.'

"Show me where Franz is!" I commanded.

XANA charged at me and grinned, "Make me…"

Next thing I knew…my body was falling apart within a split second. 'Didn't I just block his blade?' But his blade still slashed through me. I was losing too much blood again. 'Can't lose…' _You already did._

Everything was getting darker…more black.

"XANA!" a voice cried.

Then, I heard XANA yelping in pain from…something. 'What's happening?' _The calvary. _'Who? Friend or foe?' _Someone._

Suddenly, I felt strong on me…helping me onto a cool, metallic surface.

"Hang in there. I'll get you to a safe place." a voice calmly said. 'Friend…' _For now._

By then, I had lost consciousness and felt myself sinking into deep water.


	7. A Mistake

Chapter 7: A Mistake

Jeremie looked carefully at the monitor of the supercomputer and noticed that an error sign was rapidly flashing on Ulrich's profile.

"What's going on?" whispered Jeremie.

"Jeremie! Where's Ulrich? We've got Megatanks heading our way!" shouted Odd on the intercom.

"I…I don't know. He should be standing right next to you!"

"Oh…okay. Hi, Ulrich! I didn't know that you were INVISIBLE!" shouted Odd mockingly.

"Jeremie, what's going on?" Aelita asked calmly.

"I…"

"Jeremie! Sorry that we're late! I had trouble sneaking out of my house." panted Yumi as she and William exited the elevator.

"Something wrong?" asked William.

"Head to the scanners. Hurry!" ordered Jeremie.

Once Yumi and William entered the scanners, they were virtualized to the ice sector of Lyoko, where Odd and Aelita were fighting the Megatanks. They destroyed the Megatanks and waited for their next objective.

"Where's Ulrich?" asked Yumi.

"Jeremie said that he has already been virtualized into Lyoko with the installed program." replied Aelita.

"Then, where is he now?"

"Guys, check the forest sector. I've got a signature reading on Ulrich there." said Jeremie.

Everyone headed towards the way tower and began to search for any sign of Ulrich, but the only thing they found was his shattered katana.

"I'm bringing all of you home!" said Jeremie as he typed in the codes for the devirtualization process. When everyone has returned to the scanner room, they assembled in the control room with Jeremie.

"What happened this time? He…he can't just be gone forever!" Yumi yelled, almost at the point of tears.

"I…I don't know! He just disappeared from the scanners. I…" Jeremie tried to explain to Yumi but was at lost for words.

"This is like what happened last time! Except now, we can't find any trace of him!" Yumi continued.

"I was so sure this time. I thought…" Jeremie said, dropping his head into his trembling hands.

"So…this is it. He's really gone now…Damn it!" Odd solemnly whispered.

Everyone grew silent except for Aelita, who was trying to hold back from crying (though failed).

"It was a trap…this is what XANA would've done. Give us the information we've searched for so long…and then, taking one of us down…" William softly murmured.

"I don't care how long it takes. We have to find Ulrich…" Yumi said as she stormed out of the room and into the elevator.

"Yumi…I'll take you…" William offered.

"No…I…I want to be alone." she interrupted him before the elevator closed.

The gang went back to their dorms and tried to catch some sleep before the morning rises, but it was futile. Odd was petting Kiwi (his dog) in order to calm his nerves while William lay on his back, pondering upon the events of the night. Aelita had a hard time sleeping because she was trying to stop herself from crying. As for Jeremie, he continued to work on improvements on the program in order to find their lost friend. On the other hand, Yumi stared up into the bright, starry sky as she lay on her rooftop. At this time, she was crying to herself regarding the lost of her good friend.

'Why…why couldn't it have been me? I wish he had never been chosen…I …wish he would come back…please…come back.' she thought as each tear streamed down her face.

* * *

The man watched the brunette boy thrashing on the operating table that he had set up. He saw the boy's seal and thought that it was time that the boy had learned to control 'the beast' within him. So with great precision, the man broke the seal on the boy, causing a power surge. The boy began to thrash about as a massive electrical shock surged through his body.

"You must fight. You must win, Ulrich. Otherwise, you wouldn't just lose your life…you'll lose everything…"

The electrical surge amplified and the sound of cracking bones could be heard along with the muffled screams.

"Fight…" said the man.

"Aaahhh!" Ulrich yelled in agony.


	8. The Awakening

Chapter 8: The Awakening

I noticed that I was waking up from the dark depths of my slumber, but something was strange. There seems to sounds of something bubbling beneath me. The darkness was enshrouded by a dark red aura and the gates of the beast was presented more vividly than before in my nightmares. The only difference this time was that the caged door was opened.

I slowly raised my head from where it was on the floor and came face-to-face with the wolf-beast. It stared at me with cold malice in its eyes and emitted a kind of ravished hunger. I was stunned by its massive aura that I remained where I was, staring at the beast.

_Thanks for releasing me, boy. I am truly in your debt. Now…for your reward…_

Before I knew it, the creature opened its fanged mouth and lunged for me. Luckily, I dodged the beast's bite before it ate me whole. 'This thing's massive.' _Thank you. _'That wasn't a compliment!' _I never took it as one._

"Why?" I asked.

The beast looked at me, confused about my sudden question. _Why what?_

"Why me? Why are you inside of me, damn it!"

_Because you're not human. _It began to roam around me like a cat curling around its scratching post. _You were a laboratory experiment of a scientist by the name of Waldo Schaeffer AKA Franz Hopper. I was created with you as a type of artificial intelligence… or in your current case, your counterpart. _

'Franz? Franz created me?'

_You were supposed to be the first superhuman being the world was ever going to see. Designed to protect and kill upon command…like a robot. Hahaha…but look what happened. You were split from your half brother, XANA, and made a complete human with supernatural powers…from yours truly. _It sneered at me with malice.

"I'm a superhuman being? I'm not human?" I inquired.

_Yeah! Like a supersoldier…can you imagine that? A powerful being with unnatural killing instincts…at the disposal of a one person. Imagine, the power…the control you can obtain from the weak…_

"You're mad!" I screamed at the monster before me.

_If I'm mad, then you're mad. We are interlinked by mind…pain…power… If you die, then I die. It's that simple._

"Then why do you want to kill me?"

_Cause as long as your mind is alive, I can't control your body…but without me, you're weak. Just like you were in your duel with XANA…now, who do you think has a better chance of keeping the both of us alive?_

I froze at his words. 'He's right, I was powerless. I was weak against XANA. Then, how? How can I ever get stronger if I ever want to survive against XANA?' The memories of the nightmares began to flash through my mind especially that final note before I came to Lyoko. 'No…I can't lose them. I can't!'

While I was caught off-guard, the wolf bit through my entire right side (except my head and leg). It kept its hold upon me like that as I grasped its fur with my free hand. The pain was excruciating since the wolf dug its teeth deeper into my flesh as every second began to pass slowly. 'Shiz...I knew I was going to die…it was coming any minute now…but suddenly I saw a bright light and someone was calling me towards it.

"What's happening…to me…" I said as the light engulfed me.

* * *

The man continued to watch the brown-haired boy shake from the surging electric current passing through his body. Suddenly, the shock ended along with the heart monitor, which was plugged on the boy's chest over his heart.

"No…you can't have lost!" the man said with a fright.

Not only had the boy's heart had stopped, but his brain waves had ended drastically too. This caused the man to panic frantically to find a solution to save the boy. Just when he thought that the boy had actually died, a heartbeat was heard on the monitor. Eventually, scanners show that the boy was maintaining his condition. Though everything seemed fine, there was a change coming upon the boy. The man noticed that the boy's hands were becoming claws and his teeth were growing fangs.

"Ulrich! Please! You have to fight him! Fight him!"

On the boy's right arm, the symbol of XANA was appearing in a scarlet color.

'Ulrich! No…Urich! Fight!" The man yelled in desperation.

Then he dropped his head upon the boy's chest and sobbed softly to himself.

"Don't submit…or else. You'll just be like your brother. Please…you can't…you can't submit."


	9. The Encounter

Chapter 9: The Encounter

_Hey Ulrich! _

_We've got to go! _

_Ulrich, behind you! Megatanks!_

_Ulrich, I've got your back!_

I continued to stare at the moving pictures before me. 'Are these…memories?' I asked as I watch my entire life pass before me. Ironically, I began to laugh at the moments in life. This was my life before me and I was laughing at it because I was dying. 'I really have lost it.'

"Is that what you think?" asked a voice.

"Huh? Who are you?"

"Me? I'm Leo. King of the Animalians."

"Animalians? Huh…then… that means I'm dead." I replied.

"Who said that you're dead?" asked another voice coldly.

"King Leo over there. Animalians is another word for the living dead, right? Then that means I'm dead."

"He really thinks that he's dead, Leo." the dark-haired teen said.

"Quiet, Shadow. He doesn't really understand the importance of this fight yet." said the blonde-haired king.

"What's so important about the fight that you guys want to talk to me about? And what's wrong with you people that you suddenly just burst into my life?" I asked mockingly.

"The importance of this fight is whether you'll be able to control your body again…or let that beast take it over. And kid…it wouldn't be pretty if you let the latter happen. So…whether you continue to fight or not depends on you." explained Leo.

"Hahaha…well that's an obvious answer. I give up! There's nothing I can do. The life I knew before is nothing but a fabrication of someone's memory…it was all a lie! My archenemy happens to be my half brother that I never knew I had and to top it all off…I'm not human! I happen to be a laboratory rat gone wrong and the girl I care a lot for had fallen in love with my rival! Hahaha…what's there to keep fighting for?" I hysterically yelled.

With my eyes closed, I didn't notice a punch heading in my direction. I stumbled back from the metallic punch that was hurled at my head. When I touched the spot where I was bruised, it was bleeding heavily. Looking up at my assailant, I saw that he was inhuman. He had jet black, spiky hair and stood at a height of 6' 6" with an extremely muscular build. Strangely, the guy had a mechanical right arm and a scarred right eye, which was a piercing, red pupil. His aura emitted a sense of menace and destruction that caused my mind to scream at me to run from this danger. The most frightful feature about him was his left that held the look of a cool, merciless killer. 'This guy's going to kill me even if I'm already dead…'

"Shadow…calm down." commanded Leo to the guy standing right in front of me.

"Listen to me, you idiot!" he said as he grabbed me by the collar with his mech arm and raised me over his head.

"I don't care if you think you're dead or not! You're messing with my patience here and for your information…I happen to have a very short one. So listen closely! I don't give a damn about your pathetic reasons for giving in to XANA and Fang! You have to fight back and you WILL!" scolded Shadow.

'Fang?'

"Yeah, blockhead! The beast that's munching on your soul right now. If you give up now, what would your friends think? What would Yumi think? And you know what I think? I think they would call you a pathetic coward who would run at the face of death with his tails tucked between his legs. PATHETIC! WEAK! Is this how you want your friends to look at you if you were given a chance to change something in this world?" Shadow continued.

"How'd you…"

"I know everything, kid. My brother and I have been watching you and your amateur friends after your lousy nerd friend activated XANA. We KNOW everything…" scorned Shadow.

"SHADOW! Your temper…" warned Leo.

"Shut up, Leo! This weakling doesn't know the consequences of submitting to the monster! He's too stubborn to even see it himself." yelled Shadow.

"Shadow…" persuaded Leo.

"You know what, big brother? I've got a better idea. I'll show this kid what'll happen to his so-called 'precious friends'." said Shadow with a cunning smile.

"So how about it, kid? Want a trip down your future?" Shadow said coldly to me.

Blue light surrounded me and I was teleported to different realm. After I blinked to focus my vision, the surroundings shocked me greatly that I was immobilized. The scene before me was the broken bodies of my friends.

"Jeremie…Aelita…Odd…and William?" I muttered.

"Why don't you try looking ahead of you at the Kadic Academy's rooftop?" Shadow suggested.

This brought an even greater shock to me than the scene that I had just witnessed. It was Yumi standing at the near edge of the roof. She was bleeding from every side and her fans were opened to protect herself from her aggressor. I stood there quivering with disbelief and horror. The man before her was XANA with a murderous smile on his face, but at his right side was…me.

"Do you want to know who killed your friends on the battlefield…as they tried to take a stand against XANA?" Shadow whispered in my ear, which sent chills down my spine.

"Who…" I tried to asked, but it only came out as a silent stutter.

"You did…with your own bare hands…"

I continued to watch the scene on the rooftop as I stood there in a cold state.

"Yumi…" I murmured.


	10. Igniting the Will

Chapter 10: Igniting the Will

"Give it up, Yumi…it's over. Everyone's dead now…except for you, of course." XANA coolly announced.

"I'll never give in! Never to you! Or to Ulrich…" Yumi yelled heavily while trying to catch her breath as a tear flowed down her pale cheeks.

She continued to back away from XANA and the future Ulrich, but stopped abruptly when she felt herself nearly plummeting down over the ledge.

"Yumi! Yumi, watch out! Get out of there!" I yelled even though I knew that she wouldn't be able to hear me.

As a result, I began to sprint for a few meters before I was tackled to the icy ground. I felt my arms were being held into a steel-caged headlock.

"Let me go! I've…got to…I've got to save her!" I yelled desperately, struggling to reach my hand out to touch her though she was at least 20 foot above me.

"I can't let you do that. Just watch…" Shadow whispered in my ear as he tilted my head upward to watch the event above me.

"Kill her, Fang." ordered XANA calmly.

Suddenly, a pained scream was heard and I felt like my heart had stopped completely. One second she was standing a few feet away from XANA and his companion and then the next, she was leaning limp against the future me with a blood-stained sword pierced into her abdomen.

"Yumi…Yumi…" I continued to watch the horror before me while whispering her name chokingly. 'This is a dream…I got to wake up…I got to. This can't be happening…it can't be!' _But it is…_

My vision began to blur with a flash of blood red and the last thing I heard before the roaring in my ears erupted was the malicious laughter of XANA. I gripped onto the headlock that Shadow had placed me in and began to tear at him. I felt my claws had dug deep into his flesh in preparation of ripping him to pieces. I was losing control over my body. All I wanted to do now was to tear something to pieces and kill anyone in my sight. Though no matter how much I struggled, I couldn't break Shadow's iron hold on me. His grip was my stable platform that was restraining me from plummeting into insanity and bloodlust.

"You can feel it, right? His rage…your rage…they're synchronized. Now, can you control him?" Shadow whispered.

I heard his whisper, but wondered at his motivation. The first time I had heard him, he had a killing tone in his speech, but this one was different. It was like he was trying to calm me down.

The blood red light dispersed from my vision and the mist cleared to reveal the beast before me again. It had unclenched its mouth on my right side. Using the last strength remaining in my body, I grasped his fur and hurled the creature off of me. Surprisingly, I was successful and the canine landed on its back, shocked by the sudden flip. Unfortunately, it regained its consciousness and flipped itself back on its feet. It looked at me menacingly and prepared to lunged itself again at me until it stopped short. The beast was staring in my direction and I noticed that whatever was behind me, it was causing the monster to quiver in fear. I turned to and saw both Leo and Shadow coolly watching the beast.

"Leo…Shadow…" I said weakly.

Leo walked towards me and tried to support my weight so that I could properly stand upright. I groaned in pain and simultaneously, the beast did too.

"If I was you, Fang, I would stop this pointless struggle." said Shadow as he strolled between me and Fang.

_What do you want, Shadow? You've come to kill me now?_

"No…just requesting a compromise. You saw what happened too, didn't you?" explained Shadow.

_I don't know what you're talking about!_

"He loves her…and apparently, so do you."

_Shut up! _Fang roared and charged at Shadow.

"Shadow!" I yelled and tried to intervene, but Leo held me back.

"Don't worry too much about my brother. He's stronger than you think." Leo explained calmly.

Within a few seconds before Fang reached Shadow's throat, Shadow halted Fang's lunge in mid-air.

"Amateur…" said Shadow and he flung Fang against the iron bars of his prison, which resulted into a massive crash.

"What power…" I whispered in awe.

"And he's not even using a fraction of it." explained Leo.

I listened to Leo's words questioningly. 'He isn't even using a fraction of his strength?' _Yeah…he's REALLY strong. _'Huh?'

I tilted my head to get a better look at Fang and noticed that he was wincing in pain.

"Fang…" I whispered to him. _Don't give me your damn pities! I don't need them!_

His face revealed his agitation, but as I looked into his eyes, which were staring straight at me, I saw that he was in pain.

"Fang…why are you fighting? I don't believe you have anything to fight for…of course with the exception of Yumi…" Shadow said.

_Shut up! You don't understand anything!_

"What do I not understand? Am I not like you? Am I not a monster like you?" questioned Shadow.

There was silence between the two, but Shadow continued by grabbing the fur underneath Fang's jaw and setting themselves at eye level.

"That's right. I'm just like you. A monster that kills, that can neither love nor be loved. But I have a much worse fate than you. So let me give you some pointers here since you are having a very difficult time understanding what I'm trying to say. You're in love with that beauty of a woman as that guy over there. What are you fighting him for? If your real target is the other part of you. And you know what I'm talking about."

_I…I don't!_

"Really? Is it really that hard to understand? It's XANA."

_XANA? _

I noticed the great wolf began to quiver before that name, which caused chills down my spine. 'Maybe we are interlocked together…'

"That's right, buddy. You know he has the power…that power. The one to control you. Is that why you're attacking the kid? Because you think he's too weak to handle XANA?" Shadow continued.

_You don't know him! You don't know anything about him! He's stronger than the boy! No…even stronger. If I don't take control, then we'll both die!_

"So that's it…you're afraid…"

_I'm NOT!_

"Then what's there to fear?" Shadow yelled with malice.

_Because Yumi will die!_

Fang stopped and dropped his gaze in shame. I gazed at the beast and began to walk towards him, but Leo didn't stop me this time. Once I reached him, I grabbed his fur and leaned myself against him. At that moment, Shadow released his grip on Fang and casually watched what was going to happen next. A few moments had passed before I spoke up.

"Hey…Fang. I know I'm weak…and I admit it too. But we have to work this out together. Me and you…if we team up…just maybe. We can beat XANA. How about it? For Yumi…" I offered.

Fang continued to gaze at the ground, but his response was the complete opposite of what I had thought. He laughed hysterically.

_Hahaha…me. Work with you? Hahaha…you have definitely lost your mind. What do you think could possibly make me work with you? Hahaha!_

I looked at Fang unmoving, but then again, it was pointless. 'We're just too different.' I started to part from the beast when out of nowhere, a killing aura surrounded me. It was beginning to engulf me in its power and I felt pain jolting through me again.

_But then again, kid. This compromise isn't too bad…after all, it's for Yumi…_

I stared at the wolf-beast in disbelief, but had to shut my eyes because of the inevitable pain. Before I black out again, I released another yell of pain, but it wasn't a means of defeat. This was as a symbolism of my…no, our victory. For Yumi.


	11. A New Leaf

**Author's Note:**

To: Mcv: You just that have to find that out soon...

* * *

Chapter 11: A New Leaf

The monitors were depicting clear signs of gradual recovery. The man sighed in relief as he noted that Ulrich was returning to his original (human) form.

"Thank you. Without the both of you…I can't imagine what the catastrophe would be like when it happens." said the man.

"It's our pleasure, Franz. After all, we are friends." replied Leo.

"It was a pain for me…Trying to crack those two's skulls was like trying to crack an egg with a toothpick!" scoffed Shadow.

"Now Shadow. You can't argue against the fact that you actually enjoyed cracking their heads together, can you?" asked Leo.

"Nah. It was fun…especially when I got to 'knock' them to their senses." sneered Shadow.

"So what are your plans for the boy now?" inquired Franz.

"I believe we can skip the introductions since fang has already established that matter." said Leo.

"Let's begin with the training session then!" exclaimed Shadow.

"Who's the instructor?" asked Franz.

"Me." Shadow coolly replied.

"He's going to die…"

"What? Leo's going to supervise!" Shadow defended.

"But he's still going to die! Knowing you, Shadow, you would send him to his death on a gold platter within 10 minutes of your training!"

"No, he's not! He'll last at least 5."

"That's exactly my point."

"Well, for me…I'm thinking of a more appropriate teacher. Like a combat sensei." suggested Leo.

"Alright then, you smart cat! Why not just send the kid to Konoha? Tsunade-sama could take care of him there!" Shadow exclaimed.

"But wouldn't that mean that you will be taking him to another dimension?" asked Franz.

"We don't have much of a choice. Ulrich can't leave Lyoko." stated Leo.

"But that doesn't mean that he can't leave this DIMENSION…" continued Shadow.

"Will he be fine there?" whispered Franz.

"Give us 2 years, Franz. That's almost about 1 month here in this dimension. After that, XANA will finally be shut down for good." said Shadow.

Franz gazed at the photo on his wall. It was a photograph of Aelita, Yumi, Jeremie, Odd, William, and Ulrich sitting on their favorite bench while looking quite goofy in their friendly way.

"Alright…1 month." sighed Franz.

"After we get you back to Earth, we'll start my training." I added as I slowly got off of my bed and tore the tubes that were attached to me. "I didn't come all the way out here for nothing. And trust me, Franz. Aelita needs you there."

"Not only that, you could get a start on the cure to get Ulrich out of Lyoko." added Leo.

* * *

The mission was simple. I was going to "jump" with Shadow into the dimension where Konoha was while Franz "jumped" out of Lyoko to Earth with Leo. I guess we found out that Franz was not linked to Lyoko as I was now.

"Well…this is goodbye." said Franz.

He looked at me as if he was ashamed of himself for my outcome. To cheer him up, I decided to convince him that what he did wasn't his fault.

"Franz…thanks for creating me. I guess…without you, I wouldn't be here telling you this now." I sheepishly grinned to comfort him, which had little effect.

Soon we began to part when I just recalled something.

"Franz!"

I ran up to him and presented my katana and a letter.

"Can you give this to my friends and tell them…that I'll see them soon. That's a promise!"

"Of course." nodded Franz.

To his surprise, I gave him a bear hug and called him "father" before I bolted back to Shadow's side. 'It's a surprise I managed to pull that off. I've never hugged my own father on Earth…' _A surprise indeed…_ 'Shut up! No one asked for your opinion.'

When I got close to Shadow's side, I noticed that he was staring at me blankly.

"What?"

"Nothing…" Shadow replied as he "jumped" us to our designated dimension.

'What's wrong with him?' _Shadow doesn't have a family. _'What?' _You're not asking for my opinion. _'If you know something, then speak up!' _Huh…fine. Shadow's been alone since birth. No parents…no family. _'But Leo…he's his brother…' _Wrong! ADOPTED brother…_ 'How'd you know so much about him?' _Because…Shadow's practically over 10 thousand years old._


	12. News

Chapter 12: News

A week had passed since Ulrich's disappearance. Due to the effectiveness of a clone, no one noticed the difference except for the Lyoko group. The gang decided to gather at their favorite bench to discuss a plan for bringing back their lost comrade.

"Now what?" Odd asked.

"We give up…He's gone now." replied William.

"How can you say that? For all we know, he might still be on Lyoko!" retorted Yumi.

"I can't find him. I checked all the scanners. There's really no sign of him left…" Jeremie whispered.

"Yumi…" Aelita said as she placed her hand on Yumi's shoulder. "We have to let him go…there's no way we can find him now."

"You don't know that!" yelled Yumi with tears brimming over her eyes.

This earned the attention of some passing students. As a result, Yumi walked away from the group with William following right behind her. When they were in the middle of the woods about a few miles from the Kadic gym, Yumi stopped and faced William.

"I want to break up." Yumi declared calmly.

"What?" William asked as he stared at her in surprise.

"Yeah…let's break up."

"But Yumi…"

"William, I can't keep living like this…I…I really liked Ulrich, not you. I can't keep living this lie. I'm sorry."

As she turned to leave, William grabbed her by the hand.

"You think you could just break up with me because you realize now that you like Ulrich instead of me? I can't accept that. I wouldn't! Don't you see Yumi, he's gone now! He's dead!" William yelled as he tightened his grip.

Angrily, Yumi twirled around and slapped William strongly across the cheek. Taking advantage of William's shocked state, Yumi ran further into the woods without turning back.

"Fine! Be that way! Hold onto that false hope of yours! But eventually you'll see! It's useless, Yumi! He's dead! Do you hear me? DEAD!" William hollered after Yumi.

She kept running deeper into the dark depths of the woods. She didn't know where she was going, but it didn't matter to her. All she wanted to do now was run away from everything…her pain…her sorrow…her loss.

"Ulrich…" she whispered under her breath as she allowed tears to flow continuously down her face. Due to fatigue, she collapsed on a trail and cried endlessly there until night fell. Unfortunately, she hadn't realized that she was picked up by a pair of strong, golden arms that took her to a cozy home in the middle of the forest. The sign that was upon the iron gates of the house held its name: Hermitage.

**

* * *

**

Kadic Dorms

"Um…I don't know Mrs. Ishiyama. The last time I saw her, she was with William. No, he said that she had already ran home…yes, we will call you when we see her. Yes…and I'm sorry for the trouble." Jeremie said on the phone.

"Is she home?" asked Aelita.

"No…her parents are getting worried though. They said that Yumi has never been out this late." replied Jeremie who looked at his watch, which said 11:39.

"This is crazy! We've just lost Ulrich, now Yumi's missing? What's next?" Odd scowled hysterically.

"She's taking this really hard…I bet right now, she's probably sulking somewhere…" said Aelita.

"Then, we've got to find her!" suggested Jeremie, who stood up from the bed.

"Just leave her! She could do whatever she wants!" shouted William angrily.

"We can't! She's probably alone in the dark somewhere…not only that, it's getting colder." said Aelita.

"And it was your fault that you let her ran off like that!" scolded Odd.

"My fault! How's it my fault?" questioned William. "She's the one who's so worried about that loser Ulrich that she can't even think straight about the future! A future that happens to be standing right in front of her eyes!"

Suddenly, Jeremie punched William with much force that it knocked William off his feet. They stared at their nerdy friend in complete shock.

"You may be one of us. But it doesn't give you the right to mock my friends…especially Ulrich." growled Jeremie.

Immediately, everyone left the room in search of Yumi, leaving the dazed William staring outside the dark window.

"Jeremie…" said Aelita.

"I'm fine, Aelita. And don't worry, we'll find Yumi…and Ulrich."

"Wait…does that mean you've found where he is?" asked Odd.

"No…not yet, but I'm not going to give up on him." Jeremie stopped and stared at his two friends. "He won't give up on us if we were in trouble, then shouldn't give up on him."

They both nodded and headed towards the dark forest.

**

* * *

**

In the dark forest…the Hermitage

Yumi woke up with a startle when she found herself in a comfortable bed in a tidy room. In fright, she bolted out of the room and down the stairs to see a man relaxing on his armchair. He was holding a steaming cup of tea while staring into the fiery depth of his fireplace.

"You're Yumi, aren't you?" asked the man without looking at her.

"Yes…" she stuttered, afraid of the unknown.

The man smiled warmly and faced the child. "Then you know who I am, don't you?"

She shook her head and noticed that another gentleman was entering the room. He was at least 6' 8" with golden, blonde hair. He had a muscular build, but the distinguishing features of his were his lion tattoo and his eyes. They seem to emit a radiance of royalty and authority with its golden brown color.

"Well then, Yumi. Allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Franz Hopper and my companion here is Leo." explained Franz.

"I don't believe you! Franz is said to be dead! You can't be Franz Hopper! You've got to be…" she stopped in the middle of her sentence and whispered, "XANA…"

"I can reassure you, child. I am not XANA."

"You're lying! You can't be…"

"Hahaha…I'd never expect you to react just like Ulrich! Hahaha…this is truly amusing…" laughed Leo.

"Ulrich…then you know where he is?" asked Yumi.

"Of course, I do. My brother's taking him to a different dimension. In other words, a different world than this one." replied Leo.

"How…"

"Let's keep that confidential to ourselves, shall we? We don't need to reveal everything at once. Things are to be revealed at their appropriate moments…which of course, is not now…and not the matter of the current situation." interrupted Franz.

"Then, what's the situation now?" asked Yumi.

"We find a way to destroy XANA without shutting down the supercomputer." replied Leo.

"Shutting down the supercomputer IS the only way to end the fight with XANA."

"Or so you may think…" added Franz.

"What is it, then?"

"That's why we're here…to find it." explained Leo.

"And also for another reason…a friend of ours wish for us to deliver a message." continued Franz, who presented Yumi with a katana.

"This…this belonged to Ulrich." said Yumi as she gazed at the sword in her hands while sliding her fingers along the smooth edge.

"He sends his regards to you that he is well alive and will return soon." said Leo.

"He also sends you a letter." Franz said as he handed her an envelope.

"A letter?" whispered Yumi as she opened the envelope and read the contexts on the paper.

_To whoever it may concern (hopefully it's you guys…),_

_I want to let you all know that I'm alive and that I'm stuck on Lyoko now. If the supercomputer is shut down…apparently, I would die with it. It's funny knowing that I happen to be in the same position as Aelita…I hope all of you are doing fine and hopefully not worrying too much about me right now. I'm leaving to a new world with Shadow, a friend whom I've made along the way here. He's an alright guy, but he scares me a lot of the time with his cold, deadly glares…Other than that, I should be able to survive. About this new world, I hear that it's like an alternate universe compared to ours. It seems interesting, yet frightening at the same time because you don't know what's going to be lying ahead of you! Shadow said that I will receive trainging to fight better with XANA rather than in the enemy's own backyard…I'm going to miss you guys, but I promise I'll get stronger there and come back in no time. I promise! So please…wait for me…just a little longer._

_Yumi…if you're reading this…I just want to let you know that you should continue finding your happiness no matter what. I've seen something in the future that surpassed my general understanding…but I want you to remember this…be safe. For me…and Yumi…I'll come back for you…I promise._

_Sincerely your friend,_

_Ulrich_

Yumi reread the letter again and again, but was still puzzled by her friend's letter. She wondered what could've possibly frightened her friend in a way that had made him to the conclusion to leave for a different dimension.

"It's because of XANA…" Leo said, noticing Yumi's puzzled expression.

"What about him?" she asked.

"He's Ulrich's brother…his twin brother from an experimental project that I have been working on…" replied Franz, who gazed at Yumi's shocked look.


	13. Training Begins

Chapter 13: Training Begins

We arrived to a clear, spring day. The place was surrounded by trees and it was extremely quiet except for the chirping of the birds.

"Where are we?" I asked Shadow.

"We're outside the walls of Konoha." he said as he continued walking.

"What's Konoha?"

"It's a village in the Land of Fire…also known as the Hidden in the Leaf village…"

"You seem to be very knowledgeable about this place." I complimented.

"Of course, I've been raised here since I was little."

"By who?"

"If you're referring to one, then I don't have one. I have many…the ones who raised me were the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Seventh Hokages. Currently, I'm now under the supervision of the Eighth Hokage."

"What happened to the Sixth?"

"I'd rather not talk about it…"

'He stole my phrases!' "Then…what's a Hokage?"

"A Hokage is the leader of the village…they are honored for their services to the village. Also, they are the strongest shinobis of this village. There are other types of titles for these leaders, but here, we call them Hokages. Understand?"

"I guess…" I mumbled.

We walked a little further along the way, but I still couldn't find the outskirts of the village. I stared at Shadow, who was right in front of me, in question. 'Does he know where he's going?' _Of course, he does…the villages is just to our right… _'How'd you know?' _I can sense their chakra…and there's a mass of them there… _'Chakra?'

"Shadow…what's chakra?" I asked.

"Chakra is the essential to even the most basic jutsu. It's a mixture of the physical energy present in every cell of the body and the spiritual energy gained from training and experience. Once they mix, it can be channeled through the chakra circulatory system to any of the 361 chakra points in the body. These chakra points are also called tenketsu."

I stood at my spot and stared at him in confusion.

"I must be boring you…since of course, you never concentrate in your studies. So I'll make it simpler for you. Chakra is your energy source…your power. Use it too much will result to your death. Use it too little and you wouldn't be able to perform any type of jutsu." explained Shadow in a kind of bored manner.

"You know…you could have just said that instead of that dictionary term…" I mumbled after I understood a little of what he was explaining.

"Don't worry. Your sensei will explain more to you about it. He was as dumb as you when he was your age." Shadow continued.

"And who may he be?"

"The Eighth Hokage."

'The Eighth Hokage? He's going to train me!' "Who…who's the Eighth Hokage?" I stuttered.

"Uzumaki Naruto…why?"

_The Nine-tailed Fox…so, he's our trainer… _'Nine-tailed Fox…what's that?' _It's a tailed beast that possesses monstrous powers. They were said to be extremely destructive…though they were sealed away into hosts. _'Hosts?' _Humans…like that Uzumaki Naruto. Though the Nine-tailed Fox is heard to be the strongest of the tailed beast because of its limitless amount of chakra…_ 'Is that so?'

"How are you related to the Eighth Hokage?" I asked.

"Naruto? Hm…I was his teammate of Team 7…I was his father's disciple…and oh yeah…he's my brother."

"Wait…he's your brother?"

"So…" Shadow said as he turned to face me.

"Fang…he said that you don't have a family…does that mean that Naruto is your adopted brother too?"

"And if he is…"

"Then…what happened to your family?"

Shadow glowered at me and I noticed that he was revealing his fangs at me with menace. Before I knew it, he charged at me and grabbed me by the shirt. He lifted me off my feet and pulled me to meet him at eye level. 'I never knew he was this tall!' Compared to him, I was a midget at a height of 5'2" while he was a height of 6'5".

"What about my family?" he snarled with malice.

"Nothing…I was just wondering…that's all. I promise!" I stuttered.

He released his grip on me, which caused me to land on the ground hard, and continued to walk ahead.

_Don't anger him… _'I know that now!' _And never refer his family to him…_ 'You think I'm stupid enough to do that again!'

"Geez…you don't have to be so touchy…" I coughed.

I got up and ran after him. We finally stopped in the middle of a field and before us stood a man with blonde hair and an orange cloak.

_It's him…_ 'Who?' _The Nine-tailed Fox…_

I looked at the man ahead of us, whose back was still turned to us.

"We're here…sorry if we're late, Eighth Hokage…" said Shadow.

"Hahaha…there's no need for formality, brother." said the Hokage, who then turned to face us.

I noticed that he had bright, blue eyes and whiskers on his cheeks, which I thought was pretty strange. 'Are they his birthmarks?'

"Welcome to the training grounds, newcomer. I'm the Eighth Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto, but you can call me Naruto if you wish…" said Naruto.

"And you told me not to be formal…" grumble Shadow.

"Well, I'm Ulrich Stern." I introduced.

"I've heard a lot about you from my brother, Leo. He said that you're much of a weakling." smirked Naruto.

"Oh well…yeah I guess."

"Can we start with the training? I'm not in the mood for talks and formal conversations here…" Shadow growled.

"Alright! Let the training begin!" shouted Naruto in joy.

"Wait! I just got here!" I protested.

"The sooner we start your training, the stronger you'll become. So quit your complaining and ready yourself." said Shadow as he took off his shirt and training weights.

I looked at the guy in astonishment because of the weights on his body. 'They're bound to be over a ton!'

"Ready, kid?" asked Shadow with a cocky grin on his face.

"What? I'm going to fight you?" I asked while backing at least 5 feet away from him.

"No…you're not." Shadow replied while putting his fighting gloves on.

"You'll be fighting the both of us." continued Naruto, who had already taken his cloak off to reveal an orange jumpsuit with black streaks.

I stared at the both of them in surprise. 'I'm going to die!' _Stop complaining! And get ready! If you're not careful, you might end up with your body broken into pieces! _'I'm definitely going to die.'

"Alright, kid! Ready or not, here it comes!" shouted Shadow, who lunged himself at me with full force.

I managed to dodge his punch, which connected to the ground, but it wasn't the end. The ground shook and a diameter of 10 feet of ground began to crumble from his punch. I fell to my feet as I stared at his strength. 'This is…unbelieveable.'

"Ulrich." I looked at Shadow in bewilderment. "You say that you want to become stronger, don't you?" I shook my head in agreement. "Then…from today on to your last day of your two years, your training will put you to the excruciating point of your limitation. Are you ready for that?" 'Am I ready? If I am…can I survive these guys' training?'

I got back onto my feet and positioned myself to a fighting stance. 'I have to…for my friends! For Yumi!' _For Yumi…_

I could feel Fang's strength surging within me, which helped build my confidence.

Shadow and Naruto grinned. "Let's go!"

Naruto lunged at me first. "Sorry, kid. But I'm not going to hold back!"

Shadow followed right behind him. "Get ready for this!"

I stood in my spot, readying myself for a counter. 'I can do this…we can do this!' _Yes we CAN!_

"Aaaa…Take this!" I shouted as I threw a counter against Naruto.

And my training begins…day one…


	14. New Family, New Friends

Chapter 14: New Family, New Friends

Training with Shadow and Naruto was far beyond what I have expected. Nearly every week, I was sent to the hospital for recuperation because of those two's merciful beatings. I guess I deserved them…since I knew what was to be expected. Though I never thought that they would send me to the hospital like this! It's been a year since I've been training with Naruto and the other shinobis of the Hidden in the Leaf village. In my opinion, most of these people are crazy…for example, that Choji guy. He can REALLY eat…no joke. I've never seen anyone eat as much as Odd in my entire life. And that Shikamaru…he's almost like Einstein, but more physically capable.

'It's strange…they're almost like the people in Kadic, but they're not. They're ninjas who are train to kill and fight…but in some way, they are like us. Fighting to protect something we hold dear…' _Friends…Family…Honor…they are the things that you fight for, huh? _'You might say so, Fang…Hey, Fang. What do you fight for?' _What do you mean? _'What do you hold precious in the world?' _I don't…I've got nothing…and I don't care about worthless beings other than myself! _'Hey! Don't be a sourpuss…you can tell me. I know you're hiding something. I can feel it, you know.' _Shut up…I'd rather not talk about it… _"Stealing my phrase, huh?' _Whatever…_

I laughed softly to myself. Over this year, Fang and I have finally been able to form a friendship bond, but I have a feeling that he's not enjoying the connection. He's almost like a brother to me now. As for Shadow, he's like my wingman…though sometimes, he would try to kill me during training. To him, I can feel a sort of connection with him, but no matter how many times I try to have him open up to me, he would slowly drift further away. 'I have to admit. He's a complicated person to get to know…' _Tell me about it…_

I slowly got up from my hospital bed, though it took a lot of effort since I had a few broken ribs and many scratches from the practice brawls.

'It's weird…I haven't heard from Shadow for 3 weeks now.' Shadow had left to follow a group of ANBU ninjas on a special mission. My guess was a secret investigation on the whereabouts of Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Sasuke. 'Huh…it's complicated over here as well.' _Everything's complicated, my friend. _

"Hey…you shouldn't be up." said a voice from the shadows of the room.

I turned and saw my other sensei, Hatake Kakashi. He is also known as the 'Copycat ninja', which I thought was a funny nickname…until I saw him in action against Shadow in one of their sparring matches. After that, I never underestimated any of the shinobis here in the village.

"Hey Kakashi-sensei…what brings you here?" I asked my teacher.

"I came to check up on you…and Tsunade sends her regards." he said as he lifted a basket of goods.

Tsunade-san is the Fifth Hokage of the village. At first when you meet her, she seems like a gentle woman, but really she is the strongest medical ninja I've known…literally. I heard from Naruto that though she may look young, she is at least 80 years old, which was really shocking news to me.

"Tell her I said, 'Thanks.'" I said.

"Sure…so how's your training so far?"

"It's great! Though I hate having to some to the hospital every week…but I can actually feel myself getting stronger each day."

"That's excellent progress. I've been hearing about your improvements from Sakura."

Sakura is the wife of Naruto. She's really nice when you get to know her, but sometimes she scares me because of her brute force. Supposedly, she is the disciple of Tsunade, which I can totally see how much they are alike. Other than that, she's a great friend to have and an awesome medic ninja. Apparently, she's the one always healing my injuries, which kind of makes me feel bad…

"Oh yeah. Where's Shadow?" I asked Kakashi-sensei.

"Shadow? I haven't heard from him for a while, but I did hear from the other jonins that he'll be coming back with the ANBU group tonight. The jonins are having a sports competition tomorrow, and everyone wants Shadow on their team. Unfortunately, he'll always be on mine." grinned Kakashi-sensei. 'I think he grinned since his eyes were squinted. I can't really tell his emotions because of his face mask. I wonder what's he hiding…'

"Anyways, I better get going Guy wants me to meet him for another one-on-one competition."

"Oh…well. It's nice to see you again, sensei."

"Likewise." Just like that, he jumped out of the window of my room and hopped on other roofs to reach his destination.

'I'll never understand that guy…' _No one does… _'Hey…does that goes for Shadow too?' _I guess so. The guy's basically a mystery. Truthfully, no one has actually get to know the guy except for his adopted family, but they don't know his entire life… _'It's sad…not having anyone know you.' _But it doesn't really matter to him… _'It should…'

I finally got up and out of my hospital bed, but it took a lot of energy. I walked to the window and began to jump out of it to the railings of the roof. 'If I want to get out of this hospital, I have to take the roof.' The escape was successful and I hopped from roof to roof to my favorite spot: the training grounds. It was a nice starry night and I thought I could enjoy the view better at the training grounds. Once I got there, I laid myself on the grassy ground and stared up into the night. The stars were magnificent here. In France, we could barely see them because of the city lights so it was fascinating to see them here more clearly.

"I wonder how everyone's doing now…" I said out loud to myself.

"They're fine, but a little shocked about the news." replied a voice.

I jolted up and prepared to defend myself, but it was only Shadow.

I sighed in relief. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"You should've been able to detect me from at least a mile away. Improve on that!" he reproached.

"Sorry…"

"Don't worry about it too much." He lied down on the grass next to me and stared up at the starry night with me.

"How'd they know?" I continued.

"Yumi found Franz at the Hermitage. He gave her your letter and katana, and explained to her everything about your history. After that, she told your friends and they met up at the Hermitage except for William. Now they're trying to find the cure to bring you back from Lyoko."

"Is it possible? Is it possible to bring me back to Earth?"

"It is…but it'll take time. Like I said, they have another week to go."

"Another week…another year…"

"Everything will be fine. Just believe in them."

"Speaking of friends…can I ask you something?"

He remained silent so I continued with my question anyways.

"I know you're touchy about the family issue, but we're friends now. You can tell me…"

He still remained silent, so I decided to just drop the question.

"They were killed…" he finally responded.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know…"

"I didn't either...they died when I was only a day old. My grandfather sent assassins to kill me because of a prophecy. For fear of a rebellion, he destroyed my home planet: Animalia. That's how I got to Earth. As I got older, I was able to jump to other dimensions and made new families…but it wasn't the same. Nothing was ever the same for me."

"How…how'd you get to be as strong as you are now?"

"Training…" he looked at me and continued, "I've been training my whole life for an opportunity to get back at my grandfather for the pain he caused me. I went to many dimensions and was trained in their arts, or styles of fighting. Unlike you, I'm able to adapt easily to my surroundings. Then again, it also refers to the prophecy…"

"What's the prophecy?"

"A child will be born to an alien planet…though the child will be more beast than man. The boy's power will surpass those of other dimensions and generations. Invincible in his conquest he may be, but let there be a curse for the boy. A curse beyond his unquenchable pain…for he will neither love nor be loved…"

"That's the prophecy…but what's that got to do with me?"

"He will come to meet a boy. To befriend him will be his choice, but let it be known that if he doesn't, that world's demise will be upon his shoulders." Shadow replied.

"Oh…well, that's not good then."

"Nothing good ever comes from fate. In every dimension I go, fate has a mission for me to do…it gets really annoying from time to time…"

"That's not true!" I protested.

"Look at me. I'm a living example of what you believe is true about fate." Shadow scolded.

"I know that you live a miserable life, but get over it! It's not like you're over 5 thousand years old!"

"I'm over 9 thousand…"

"No, you're not! Otherwise, you'll be having white hair and fragile…and…"

"I don't age…"

"How can you not…"

"Again, my curse…"

"But it doesn't mean that the fates control you! You can control yourself! You're strong enough, Shadow!"

He stared at me for a moment before he looked away and glanced back up to the stars.

"Shadow…" I whispered.

"Get some sleep. There's still more training ahead for you in the morning."

"Alright…"

I laid on the grass and closed my eyes. I could feel the night breeze swiftly blowing. The trees were rustling and sounds of nature were heard. 'It's relaxing here…' I slowly felt myself, drifting away to sleep. 'Yumi…'

* * *

Not far from the boy, an assassin was lying in wait for his strike.

"I have you now, boy…" he said as he drew his kunai from his pouch.

"What do you think you're planning to do with that?" asked a voice.

The man twirled around and was grabbed by the throat of his assailant.

"Who are you?" asked the stranger.

"You're Shadow, aren't you? Also known as the Shadow Wolf of Konoha, am I right?"

"Then you know me…"

"Everyone knows you…hahah. You're a famous bounty hunter…an assassin…killer…murderer."

"And your point?"

"Nothing in particular, my friend. But how about an offer?"

Shadow raised an eyebrow.

"I see that you're intrigued. Then I'll cut to the chase. Join Hades…he'll give you everything you want. Power…money…women. Everything your heart desires! And you wouldn't have to worry about that pathetic curse of yours."

Shadow smiled evilly and the man stared in fright. He saw the hungry look in Shadow's eyes, the kind that a predator shows when he's prepared to kill his prey. "You think I would submit to him? The man who I despised?"

Shadow threw the man with brute force, causing the man to crash through 8 trees.

"I'm not someone's dog! I submit to no one! Especially not HIM!" He lunged at the man and pounded him into the rock wall.

"Here's a message for you to give to him. I'll NEVER give in to him. He's not my master. I'm my own master!" He continued to punch the man to the point of death.

"Let that be a warning…" He snarled and ripped the man apart.

Shadow stared at the remnants of the assassin and the blood stained on him. "I went overboard again…" he whispered and glanced blankly upwards to the sky.

"No one in the world can ever love a beast like me…a killer…a monster…" he whispered and watched the stars above. As he watched the stars, he wished for a shooting star to grant his wish…his own desire: his freedom from the curse.

After a moment of reflection, he turned to face Ulrich's direction, where he was still dozing on the grassy plain. "You don't know everything, kid. Not where I came from…not what I've been through…that's why you're lucky. You haven't truly met the face of war and death, the need for blood and the thrill of the fight…the endless and meaningless killings…that's what I am, more beast than man…" Shadow mumbled and disappeared into the shadows.


	15. Summoning

Chapter 15: Summoning

Shadow stalked through the night to reach the calling. He received a message from Leo by a messenger hawk. The message specifically asked him to meet at the waterfall. Shadow stopped and crouched to conceal himself in the shadows of the forest. He stared out into the opening where there was a man standing on water, waiting. He clamped his hands around his mouth and snarled in Wolflionian tongue, which was the ancestral language used for communication between the Wolftonians and Liongarians. The man did the same and Shadow approached the man in silence.

"What's the situation, Leo?" Shadow asked his brother.

"You remember King Bradley?" asked Leo.

"That man from the Elric brother's dimension? What about him?"

"There's something fishy about him…Something dark…"

"Do you think he's a Homunculus?" Shadow asked as he took a step towards Leo.

"He might be…I'm suspecting." Leo whispered.

Shadow closed his eyes and concentrated on his keen hearing to detect any spies. Apparently, there weren't, but one can't be too sure…

"I have to go." Leo whispered as he began to depart.

"What about the others? How is their progress?" Shadow asked.

"They've got no trail. It seems that XANA has erased any record of the data he had sent to Jeremie."

"What do we do now? We've only got a year while they only have a week?"

Leo stared at Shadow and glanced away. He shook his head in disapproval. "I don't know…but one thing's for sure. We're running out of time."

Shadow snarled and faced the waterfall. "That's one thing we can never control…time. Though we can't age, time will always pass us by when we need it to stop! It's frustrating!"

"I know, brother…it's painful."

"You don't know anything! You never will. You were never there when that day happened! You weren't there when MY world fell apart! You weren't there! But HE was!" Shadow roared.

Leo continued to stare at his brother, but then took a step forward. Shadow was breathing heavily from his rant and had his eyes shut. Leo placed his hand over Shadow's shoulder, which was trembling from rage.

"It's true…I wasn't there. But I'm here now."

"That doesn't count…" Shadow snarled.

"The pain's there, isn't it? Your burden to carry…"

"It'll always be a burden…my curse…my pain…"

"Then you've got nothing to lose…you can still fight."

Shadow kept his eyes closed, but his body continued to tremble. He opened his eyes. They were clouded with black like an abyss except for his gold pupil on his right eye and a slit red pupil on his left (scarred) eye.

"I never had anything in the first place…" replied Shadow before he turned away from his golden-haired brother.

"Make sure you disguise yourself as the homunculus Death…the others wouldn't expect you to be a turncoat. After all, "Father" had already "created" you and believed that you had gone to Drachma. Also, believing that you have lost communication with him due to the national sonic barrier of the country, you should be safe with that cover…" continued Shadow.

"Thanks for the advice…" replied Leo, who was also about to depart.

"Oh…and one more thing." Shadow said as he turned his head towards Leo. "Don't go flirting with Olivier Armstrong. She'll cut you down when you least expect it." Shadow smirked.

"Very funny, brother. I'm shaking in my furs by hearing her name." chuckled Leo.

"I'm serious…you'll see soon enough."

"What about you? What are you going to do about Ulrich and his friends?"

Shadow pondered upon the question for a bit. He looked at the sun, which was beginning to rise. The light illuminated the dark shadows of the night and bringing brilliance to the magnificence of the woods.

"Before the year ends, I'll go back to check on the gang. As for now…I'm going to continue training that kid. Something he'll need in the future against XANA…" Shadow said as he gazed at the sunrise.

"That would be…"

"The Bestial Fusion…our secret arts of fighting."

"But that technique can only be mastered by the full-blood Animalians! He can't possibly learn that technique in a year!" Leo protested.

"I did…I mastered it in a day. And on top of that, I'm not even a full-blood. If I can do it, Leo…then he can too."

"Surely…you're putting too much faith in the boy."

"You want to bet? I bet you be can master this in less than a year." Shadow raised up 5 fingers. "He'll master this in 5 months! You'll see."

"Hahaha…that wasn't what I meant, Shadow."

"Then what do you mean?"

"I'm commenting on you. This is the first time…that you've put your faith in someone."

Shadow chuckled and glanced upwards to the bright blue sky.

"You're wrong…there was someone else that I had put faith in…" Shadow mumbled.

"Who?" Leo asked as he stared at his brother in confusion.

Shadow looked back at his brother and flashed one of his goofy smiles. "It's a secret…" he sang.

Leo laughed at his sudden playfulness and waved his hand to open the dimensional portal. The air began to crackle and a wormhole appeared suddenly in front of Leo.

"I must get going now…I trust that you wouldn't kill the boy?" Leo asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Have I ever let you down?" Shadow questioned.

"No…you never have." Leo replied before entering the portal.

With a loud boom, Leo disappeared from Shadow's view. Shadow gazed blankly upon the place where Leo used to be.

"Not yet I haven't…"Shadow whispered.

Afterwards, he headed towards the Konoha Village in search of Kakashi for the assistance in the start of Ulrich's special training.

* * *

I was awoken from my wondrous fantasy by the sudden brightness. My eyes began to closely open and I sat up. Morning has arrived and the village was starting their daily routine. I rubbed my eyes and headed towards the village to my dorm. Once I got there, I changed out of my clothes for a new pair and searched for my training weights. Since I have arrived here in Konoha, Naruto had expected me to wear my body training weights the entire time when we were sparring. If I wasn't mistaken, they were approximately 20 tons, which was a breeze for me now due to Fang's supernatural strength endowed upon me. After placing the weights on me, I cooked my breakfast and headed on my way to the sparring grounds. I hurried as fast as I could because Shadow doesn't approve of tardiness.

'Almost there…'

I jumped through the clearing of trees and landed on one of the logged poles.

'Made it!' _Wrong… _'Huh?'

"You're late." said Shadow, who was leaning against a tree near the lake.

"Oh, come on. I was here on time." I looked up at the clouds. "It's only 8."

"8…and 4 seconds. You're getting a bit edgy on your speed."

"4 seconds…it's no big deal!" I protested.

Shadow lunged at me and placed a kunai against my throat. I stood there in place, watching in shock.

"If you were paying attention earlier in the year, you would understand just how much can be done in 4 seconds. Like right now, for example. In a measly second, I was able to place a kunai at your vital blood vessel. And in the next, you'll be lying dead…bleeding. Now…does 4 seconds seem to make a difference?" Shadow asked scornfully.

"I…I see your point."

"Good. Now give me 100,000 push-ups. And then, 20 laps around the forest. That will be your warm-up."

'You've got to be killing me! It's only the morning. And how's that suppose to be a warm-up?' _He is killing you…haha… _'Shut up! You're suffering with me too!'

It was almost the afternoon when I had finished his outrageous request. I huffed and collapsed on the ground. 'This is so much harder than before!' _You said it._

"Excellent…now listen carefully. This time your training will place your skills and will to the test." said Shadow, who was leaning against a tree.

"What…What's that suppose…to mean?" I huffed.

"I'm going to teach you my people's secret technique. It can't be mastered by anybody other than the Animalians, but I believe…that you can accomplish this despite your mortality." Shadow sneered.

'Is that suppose to be a compliment or an insult?' _Depends on how you see it…_

"To begin this training, we have to teach you the summoning jutsu." continued Shadow.

"Summoning jutsu? Summon who? And who's 'we'?" I asked.

"That would be me." replied a voice from above.

I looked up into the tree to my right and saw Kakashi-sensei sitting on a branch with a Make-Out Paradise book opened in his hand.

'Does he carry that book with him everywhere?' _He sure enjoys that book…I wonder what it's about…_ 'Don't even think about it!'

"But that doesn't explain…" I continued.

"The summoning jutsu would be upon the type of animal you have contracted with. But your contract will be different." Shadow answered and pointed at me. "The creature you're summoning…is Fang."

"Summon…Fang?" I whispered.

'What? Is that possible?' _Me…set free, but under the control of this boy? Gr… _'Hey! I hear that!' _Listen, kid! Do you have what it takes to control me? To sustain me once I'm free from my cage? _'I…I don't know…'


	16. Truths

Chapter 16: Truths

I lie panting on the ground. My muscles were refusing to stand up again due to my fatigue from the overexertion of chakra. I never knew that the summoning jutsu could take so much chakra. 'Why can't I do it? Why can't I summon you?' _It's because it's not possible. If you wish to summon me, you have to break through the barriers that are suppressing me. _'I'm trying! But…nothing's working!'

"Having a hard time?" asked Shadow, who was playing a chess with Shikamaru.

"Kind of…and would it kill you to help me?" I shouted at him through pants.

"No can do. This is something that you have to figure out yourself." replied Shadow.

"Alright…I get it. But why in the world is Shikamaru here? And playing chess?" I protested.

"Because I feel like it, knucklehead. Ugh…This is such a drag…" answered Shikamaru as he moved one of his castle near Shadow's bishop.

"Whatever…" I answered back.

I finally managed to reach my feet and tried the summoning jutsu again. I drew some blood and created a straight line on my forearm. Performing the hand signs again, I slammed my palm on the ground and shouted, "Summoning Jutsu!" A surge of chakra was focused to my palm and smoke erupted. Without much success, there was no Fang.

"Checkmate…" said Shadow.

"What? You cheated!" shouted Shikamaru in bewilderment.

"Did not…you just missed your chance!" exclaimed Shadow.

"Ugh…whatever! It was such a drag…" Shikamaru said as he walked back towards the village for his evening patrol with Temari and Shino.

"Hey Shikamaru! Don't go 'kissing up' to Temari! I hear she's in a bad mood today!" I jokingly said to him, which caused Shadow to chuckle softly to himself.

"Shut up! And don't you have a problem of your own? I see that you're still trying to smoke air over there for 2 months already!" retorted Shikamaru.

"I'm not smoking! And on the other side, I'm not even 18!" I shouted.

"Well…technically, you are in this world." explained Shadow.

"You're not helping…at all!" I protested.

Shadow sighed and made the chessboard disappear from view. 'Freaky…it's interesting how he does that sometimes…'

"In order to summon Fang, you have to concentrate your focus onto one point. Apparently from my perspective, you're not at all focused. Your mind is wondering off someplace else…" continued Shadow with a calm composure.

"You seem to be in a very good mood today, Shadow. And in my opinion, it's kind of scary…" I jeered.

"Very funny, kid…So I'm going to try something different." Shadow said as he walked towards me. "I'm going to train you from your mind."

"How are you going to do that?" I questioned with a raised eyebrow.

'I don't think I'm going to enjoy this…' _That goes for me too._

"Like this." He said and placed a finger on my forehead.

Before I knew it, I felt like I was knocked off of my feet and dropped into an abyss. My surroundings changed and I was placed into a dark cavern. The ceiling was dripping with cool water and the ground was rocky with jagged pillars towering above.

"Where is this place?" I asked.

"It's your mind, but I have morphed it to suit the task that we're going to do." answered Shadow, who emerged from the dark side of the cavern.

"You know, sometimes you scare me with your weird abilities."

"That's good. I tend to like myself being intimidating." he sneered.

"That wasn't a compliment…and plus, what is your ability?"

"Shadow…I control the shadows and other elements. My abilities are limitless just as your strength is because of Fang."

"Hahaha…that's interesting. It really matches your name." I snickered.

Shadow strolled over to me and knocked my head to the side.

"Hey! I was just kidding!"

"I didn't know that."

"You know you really don't have a sense of humor!"

"I never do…"

Suddenly, I realized what he had previously said. "Wait…you said that I gained unlimited strength because of Fang…then, where did you get yours?"

He stared at me and looked away to the mouth of the cavern. Outside was beautiful. The cavern was surrounded by majestic mountains and below was the deep, green valleys. It was filled with many plantations and wildlife. It was the most extraordinary view that I had ever seen.

"The beast inside me doesn't have a name…but I call him Wolf. Because that's what he is."

"Just like mine…"

"Wolf is nothing like Fang. Unlike Fang, Wolf can travel freely whenever he wishes and…he's my other half."

"Other half?"

Shadow glanced towards the ground and pondered for a bit. Suddenly, he began to chuckle, which scared me because I couldn't tell whether he was laughing at his own joke…or laughing out of malice.

"You might say that he's the 'good cop' to my 'bad cop'. Hahaha…" he snickered.

"Now…that's not funny…"

"What? Do you want him to train you instead?"

"Yeah! If he's a better version of you!"

"Alright, kid. You said it. But I warn you…he's much tougher on the rookies than me."

"Huh?"

Before I knew it, Shadow stood in front of me with his hands to the side. His eyes began to could with black smoke as his pupils began to change color.

"Wolf!" he shouted.

Emerging from his left arm, a black wolf jumped out and landed right before me. It was at least 4'7" with jet black fur and gray streaks. It had the same characteristics as Shadow such as the right scarred eye (with the red slit pupil) and golden pupil surrounded by black smoke on his left eye. Strangely, it had a right mech (front) leg. It snarled at me and shed its teeth. I backed away from it and bumped against a pillar.

'This thing is huge! But where did it come from?' _From inside Shadow._ 'But how'd he get out if he's inside Shadow? Doesn't he have to perform the summoning jutsu first?' _That may seem so…in our circumstance. _'Our circumstance?' _Listen…both you and I are genetically created in Waldo's lab, but we weren't human. Shadow isn't human, but he's an Animalian. _'What's an Animalian?' _You've been with Shadow for almost a year and a half, and yet you don't know what an Animalian is? _'Well…All I thought of them was that they're supernatural beings, but that's all I can assume from this guy…he's so mysterious. I can't read him at all!' _Neither can I…but that's what makes him interesting to fight with…_

"Wolf, I need you to train Ulrich…apparently, he's too fragile to realize the expense of the jutsu." Shadow said.

"Ha! And what are you going to do, you lazy bum? I haven't seen you in action for a while." Wolf scolded.

"I've got other things to take care of."

"Lyoko?"

"Yeah."

I snapped back to reality when I heard about Lyoko. "What about Lyoko?"

"I'm going to check on your friends to see how they're doing. So while I'm gone, you better hurry with that training. We're running out of time here." Shadow replied over his shoulder as he prepared for another "jump".

"Wait! I need to…" but I was too late since he had already vanished from the dimension.

"What was your question?" asked Wolf.

"I was going to ask what an Animalian is." I replied.

"An Animalian, huh? So you want to know what they are? Are you sure?"

"Yeah…is it something bad?"

"Worse…"

I gulped my fear and nodded my head for him to continue. 'This is going to be bad…I can feel it.'

"Animalians are creatures from the planet Animalia. They were raised to be almost killers and warriors for their home planet. There was war amongst the Animalians…conflict whether they should live side-by-side with humans and yokais. I say yokai because Animalians are distinct from the lineage of the yokais such as werewolves, vampires, and witches. Some of the Animalians believed that they, as an entire race, are superior to these powerful yokais. They questioned why we were "under the command" of them. Therefore, they form a revolutionary group and attacked the royal house of Litcovia. Mind you…Animalia was split into two realms: The land of Litcovia and the land of Darknovia. Darknovia was where Shadow was from as for Leo, he's from Litcovia. If you compare the two brothers, they are both strong. The difference is seen on their tattoos."

"Tattoos? What are the tattoos?"

"They symbolize the characteristics of the Animalians and their preferred animal transformation."

"So what's the difference?"

"The marking…Leo has a star behind the lion's head and Shadow…has an X behind his wolf's head."

"That's it? So that's what distinguished Litcovia and Darknovia?"

"No…it doesn't. It shows their rank. Star represents king and X represents elite."

"You're not making any sense…at all."

"I know…but here's another distinction. Animalians from Darknovia are known to be murderous fighters. They kill anyone in their sight…including the people they hold dear."

"But Shadow…isn't he from Darknovia?"

"He is…and their number one warrior too. Some say that he could've have been king if he wishes…"

"Then…why?"

"Because he has a heart…unlike those Darknovia Animalians, Shadow is…you might say, one of a kind."

"So…"

"Let's start with your training now…" Wolf looked outside as the sun began to set. "As shadow says, we're running out of time. This is what I need you to do…"

"And that is…"

"Concentrate and think of the person you hold most dear to your heart."

"Alright…"

I sat down with my legs crossed and meditated. In my mind, I pictured Yumi and all of the moments we had shared together. 'This is…really calming.' I felt my heart began to pound faster and my muscles beginning to relax from the year's tension.

'Yumi…' _Yumi…_

* * *

**Near the Hermitage**

"Huh…it seems like everything's quiet…too quiet."

Shadow began to roam the perimeter of the Hermitage. Checking behind each tree, he noticed that there were some remnants of bullets on the ground. The forest ground was littered with ammunition and rope.

"What happened here? Are these…arrows?"

Shadow stalked immediately to the front door of the Hermitage. He slowly opened the door and unsheathed from his mech arm his 9mm black berretta, which he customized himself as his one of his signature weapons. He stealthily walked through the hallway leading to the living room. With his gun pointed ahead, he scanned the room for any sign of life. The living room was a mess. There bullet holes covering the entire walls. The furniture were overturned as if they were used as shelter. Not only that, they were marks on the wall…suggesting that some had use a chainsaw?

"Now…where'd they get a chainsaw?"

Shadow looked at the massive hole in front of him. The ground seems like it had been incinerated by something…unusual.

"What happened here?"

Suddenly, Shadow heard a slight click and he reflexively turned to aim his gun in that direction. What he didn't expect was the person he faced.

"You…" Shadow said before the room began to echo with the man's malicious laughter.


	17. Surrender

Chapter 17: Surrender

"You've got the image, right?" Wolf asked.

"Yeah…I got it."

"You're now relaxed?"

"Yeah…in a way."

"Can you feel his power flowing through you? Can you feel his life force?"

"Yeah…it's strong."

"Then…surrender those feelings."

"What?" I shouted as I opened my eyes to stare at the wolf.

"Surrender them. Give them up."

"Why? I thought these feelings…"

"Are the ones that bond you both together? No…they must be relinquished. In order to summon Fang, you must feel his life force and throw away those feelings."

"There's no way I can do that! I love her!"

"Love? So that is your feeling toward a mortal…what makes you think you can love?"

"What…what do you mean?" I asked in confusion.

"Shadow didn't tell you…" Wolf stated, though it seems like a question.

"Didn't tell me what?" I asked.

"He really does pity you. He's becoming soft…" mumbled Wolf.

"What isn't he telling me?" I yelled.

"You were generically created, but I've figured that you've known that for a while now. The other truth is that…you are a machine that can't feel. You don't possess any emotions, which makes you the ultimate killing machine…a super soldier that pities no one…taking orders when needed to…kill when told to kill…with no remorse or objection. That's what you really are. I'm just surprised that Shadow hasn't bluntly told you that. Usually he's the one that brings the obvious, hardcore news…he's really becoming soft…and that's totally like him…"

That really struck me and I stared at Wolf blankly. I missed out his last statement due to the sudden shock, so I didn't realize that he was still talking to me. 'I don't have emotions?' _You never had them in the first place… _'Then what are these feelings that I possess? The ones that I feel?' _What are feelings? _'Feelings are…they're…' _You don't know. _'But I've felt them! And I'm still feeling them now!' _Did you? Do you? Or were you making yourself believe that? Your own truth? That you're human? Think about it…you're different from them. So how does not having feelings uncommon in your circumstance. Machines were created without emotions…and so were you and I. _'I don't believe you! I don't believe this!' _It's not a matter of belief…it's a matter of facts…of truths._

I stood up form my posture and struggled to break the barriers of my mind.

"What are you doing? Have you lost your mind?" shouted Wolf.

"Lies! All lies! Are you saying that my existence was nothing? That it was a waste! That the life I knew was nothing, but a memory? A data program that those scientists created me for?"

"Ulrich! Take it easy! If you break the barrier, your mind will be trapped in a coma state! Shadow and I wouldn't be able to bring you back! Ulrich!"

"I…don't…care!"

The barriers began to shatter and I plummeted straight towards a dark void. 'This is where I belong…my one true place.' _Ulrich! No! Grip back! Get back!_

Fang's voice was lost to me…I guess I had lost connection with him now. I could feel myself slowly disappearing along with everything. My parents, my school, my home, my friends…and Yumi. 'What am I going to do? What are these feelings that I have for her? Yumi…save…help me…'

"Ulrich! Ulrich, wake up! Ulrich!" Wolf shouted at Ulrich as he lay unconscious on the training grounds.

"Fang! Fang! Communicate with him! Tell him to come back!" Wolf telepathically told Fang.

_I can't! I lost communication with the boy. I can't find his brain waves. He's lost to me. I can't…_

"Fang? Fang, are you there? Fang!" Wolf shouted telepathically.

The communication was lost between Fang and Wolf.

"This is bad…we've not only lost Ulrich, but Fang too." Wolf stated.

"Shadow, can you hear me? Did you get the message? Shadow?" Wolf communicated to Shadow. "No answer…what could possibly happen to you?"

Wolf closed his eyes and focused on Shadow's aura. This was their way of communicating and locating one another even though they may be in different dimensions. Due to their bond, they were able to sense what the other was sensing such as sight, smell, sound, and touch. But what Wolf saw surprised him beyond his rational understanding.

"We're too late…" he howled upwards to the sky in disappointment and failure.

* * *

"XANA?" Shadow asked as he faced the figure before him with his loaded 9mm berretta.

"You think that will work on me?" asked XANA with a slight hint of mockery.

Shadow fired the gun at XANA, which sent a large missile projectile in his direction. Unfortunately, it missed its target and caused a massive explosive from its impact against the wall. Shadow jumped for cover by one of the furniture as XANA slipped through the hole in the ceiling.

"Where'd he go?" Shadow thought as he looked where XANA use to be. "Above?"

"That's an interesting gun you have there. You've made it yourself?" XANA asked, but his location was indistinguishable.

"He really is above me…that's great. Now I have to blow the entire ceiling up just to get him where I want him…" thought Shadow as he planned out some strategies out of his current situation.

"What's wrong, Shadow? You lost?"

"You wish, XANA!"

Shadow ran from his cover and slid through the hole that XANA had left. He aimed his berretta in front of him for another shot, but XANA wasn't in sight.

"Where'd he go?" Shadow thought to himself as he followed a trail. There seems to be a dim light ahead so he continued towards it with caution.

"XANA can attack from anywhere…I have to be careful." Shadow thought as he drew nearer.

He took a peek through the gap and saw the Lyoko gang with Franz. They were chained to the walls and were unharmed.

"Good…they're fine…but for now. As long as XANA's here." Shadow pondered.

He jumped through the gap and landed right in front of Franz. He drew the blindfold from the man and turned to watch his back. Still, there was nothing.

"I thought I heard a click…this place really gives me the shivers…" Shadow thought.

"Shadow? Is that you?" asked Franz, who had finally awaken.

"Yeah, Franz. What happened here?" Shadow asked coolly.

"XANA…he…broke free from Lyoko…"

"I can see that."

"You have to get out of here…he has the key now."

"What key?"

"The key to Lyoko and Earth…"

"How'd he get it?"

"He used Ulrich's DNA code."

"But Ulrich's not human, he…"

"Was generically mutated at birth…"

"Generically mutated? Meaning…"

"He is human…but he was dying. My friends and I wanted to give him a chance…give him life. So we performed a genetic mutation project to save the boy…but everything went wrong. His genetic code created a replica of him…the one you now see as XANA. Ulrich is human…yet inhuman." explained Franz.

"So the truth is spilled…" said a voice from behind.

Reflexively, Shadow aimed his berretta and fired at XANA, but it was too late. XANA had charged at Shadow and plunged a knife through his rib cage. Shadow leaned backwards from the impact, but kept a firm hold on the knife. He gripped on XANA's hand and placed his gun against XANA's temple.

"You move…and I'll shoot." Shadow panted as blood spat from his mouth.

"Oh really?" XANA remarked and twisted the knife that was still dug inside Shadow's ribs.

More blood began to drain from Shadow's body and he moaned in pain.

"Shadow!" shouted Franz.

Shadow heard gasping from the other teenagers and turned to see their shocked faces. He smirked at them and pulled the trigger.

"Point Blank!"

A massive black light illuminated from the berretta and a massive explosion erupted. Drawing his blade, he cut all of the chains and opened the dimension hole. He grabbed each of the members and threw them through the portal. After throwing Franz through, Shadow pulled a small electromagnetic detonator form his mech arm.

"This should take care of you." Shadow said as he set the timer to 3 minutes.

As he got up to leave through the portal, XANA assaulted him from behind. The two began to tumble to the ground, trying to gain the upperhand over the other. The struggle was difficult, but Shadow knew he couldn't leave the portal open when the detonator goes off. Shadow closed the dimension portal with his free hand and shed his claws. He threw XANA off of his back and lunged at the man. They brawled for a bit, resulting in deep cuts on Shadow's body. They began to part from each other to regain their energy. Shadow was panting heavily while trying to remain conscious.

"This is getting really difficult…" Shadow thought and lunged at XANA again, but he was countered.

XANA grasped Shadow's arm and threw him to the ground. He formed a surgical lightning in his palm and crushed it upon Shadow's chest. This caused a big rip through Shadow and more blood began to flow. Shadow screamed in agony, but continued to hold onto XANA.

"Time's running out…I've got to…" Shadow thought before an idea struck him.

He flipped XANA onto his spine and pulled the both of them towards the detonator, which read only a remainder of 20 seconds. Securing XANA before the bomb, he headlocked him and flipped himself on top of XANA.

"What do you think you're doing?" XANA asked. "You'll kill the both of us!"

"Like I care…" Shadow coolly replied.

The bomb detonated and the entire Hermitage was caught in a great explosion, destroying everything in its site.

* * *

**R&R **

**And vote for the next story to come:**

**Sword and the Beast - Jagger's adventure at the Hinata House (Love Hina)**

**Full Metal Lion - Leo's prespective in the Amestris (Full Metal Alchemist)**


	18. Hope

Chapter 18: Hope

"Ugh…what just happened?" asked Odd. who was recovering from his dizziness.

"I don't know…but I think that big guy just threw us into some kind of dimensional doorway…" said Jeremie, who was struggling to his feet.

"That 'big guy' is Shadow…and he's one of our allies." said Franz.

"Shadow…is he the one that Leo was talking about?" asked Yumi.

"Yes…but luckily, he came at the right time. Otherwise, XANA would've already killed us."

"Speaking of Shadow, where is she?" asked Aelita.

"Wait…he was right behind us. I'm sure of it." said Odd.

"Could he have been?" continued Yumi.

"No…he's stronger than he looks." replied Franz.

Then, another dimensional hole was opened before them.

"There he is…Shadow, tha…" said Franz until he saw the figure before him.

Shadow's body was battered into pieces. His deep cuts were bleeding endlessly and there were remnants of sharpnels sticking out from his body. The boy seems to be unconscious for his eyes were blank. There was someone he was leaning onto. He had reddish-black hair and ice-blue eyes. On his right arm, there was a jaguar tattoo. Everyone stared at the newcomers with awe and fear…fear of the unknown.

"Jagger…" whispered Franz as he walked towards the two boys. "What happened to him?"

"He was caught in the explosion…the entire Hermitage is burned down. From the looks of things, he held XANA down against the detonator he had set up. Guessing from the debris, XANA will probably be out for a while…probably including Shadow here." answered Jagger.

"Will…will he be alright?" asked Aelita with concern.

"He'll be fine…but he'll need healing from Tsunade at the intensive care." said Jagger.

"Then we need to get him there." ordered Franz.

They all set out for Konoha village with Jagger at the lead.

"Where is this place anyways?" asked Odd.

"This must be the dimension that Ulrich was talking about in his letter." said Jeremie.

"If this is the dimension that Ulrich was talking about, then he must be here!" cheered Yumi.

"He's here…but in a comatose state." said Jagger.

"What do you mean?" asked Franz.

"Wolf mistakenly told the boy that he was not exactly human…that his entire being was a lie. Therefore, the boy broke his mind barrier and plummeted his mental state into a comatose realm."

"What? How could he…"

"Do that? You ask him…I don't exactly know the situation, but judging from what Wolf told me, I made it exactly in time to save my little brother. As for your friend, my advice would be to see him soon and pull him out of that state."

"What would happen if he doesn't?" asked Odd curiously.

"Then your world would cease to exist…"

* * *

"Ulrich, wake up! You have to wake up! Everyone's here to see you now. Ulrich!" shouted Wolf.

Then the door opened, Yumi entered first and rushed immediately to Ulrich's side.

"Will he be okay?" asked Yumi.

"Well…I'm not a doctor." Wolf said sheepishly as he raised his paws. "But the doctors did say that he'll remain like that unless he wakes up soon…I'm sorry."

"Wolf, why don't you go back to Shadow? He's currently in a crucial state..." said Franz.

"I already knew. That kid always gets himself sent to the intensive emergency care…" Wolf leaped out the door and ran through the hallway in search of Shadow.

"Ulrich…we're here now. Please…please wake up." whispered Yumi as she held his hand in hers. "Please…"

A tear fell from her eyes and landed on his palm. "I need you…"

* * *

Wolf entered Shadow's room and saw Jagger lying on the couch. He knew that Jagger and Razorclaw had probably entered Shadow's mind by now.

"I better join the conference." Wolf thought.

He leaped onto the bed and fused himself onto Shadow's wolf tattoo, which is located on his left bandaged arm. Everything faded and the entire landscape was transformed into a mountainous scenario.

"Shadow?" yelled Wolf.

"Over here." replied Shadow, who was lounging against a tree with Jagger lying on one of the branches.

Wolf rushed over and saw Razorclaw (a jaguar) stretching near a flower patch.

"You're late, Wolf." growled Razorclaw.

"Sorry, I had business to take care of." growled Wolf.

"And so does everyone here." answered Razorclaw as he lie down to rest.

Wolf shook his head and headed towards Shadow, who he laid close to.

"You're right about what would happen to the boy." Wolf said to Shadow.

"What are you talking about?" asked Shadow with his eyes closed and a raised eyebrow. Without glancing at him, Jagger noticed a smirk on his brother's face.

"You said that he'll comatose once he hears that he was really a machine. Not a human being. Of course, you knew that it's not entirely the truth…"

"I still don't have an idea of what you're referring to…" Shadow snickered with a big grin.

"Liar…" Wolf grumbled.

"So you knew all along?" asked Jagger.

"And if I did?"

"Then I wouldn't have risked my life to save your butt! Do you know how annoying it is to save people when they know they were going to get themselves killed? It's really annoying!"

"True…but 'playing dumb' was even more annoying."

"So everything played right into your hands…" snarled Jagger.

"Not everything plays right into my hands. It's strategy. And the only mishap from it was…"

"XANA." Wolf finished.

"Yeah. I didn't expect him to get out so quickly." Shadow continued.

"So now what?" asked Razorclaw.

"We watch…"

"Just watch?" questioned Jagger.

"Well…we can hope also."

"Hope? Hope for what?"

"That the kid will notice his purpose soon. Otherwise…they're world would cease to exist."

"And XANA will have conquered this dimension." continued Wolf.

"I really don't like the sound of that…hope…" protested Jagger

"Why's that?"

"Hoping for something to happen is…annoying. And not only that, it can bring nothing but despair in the end."

"You think everything's annoying." responded Razorclaw.

"Really? I haven't noticed…" said Jagger sarcastically.

"But you know what? This game…it's getting really interesting to watch." Shadow sneered.

"And what would happen if everything doesn't go according to plan?" asked Jagger.

"Then we'll just join in and play along." smiled Shadow.


	19. A Game

Chapter 19: A Game

"Mister…hey Mister! Are you alright?" asked a small voice.

Slowly I opened my eyes to see a blank white surrounding. Kneeling before me was a small toddler, who was about 2 years old.

"Are you alright?" asked the boy again while cocking his head to the side. I held onto my throbbing head and sat up. The memories of the event before flashed through my mind. It caused my brain to throb even more and so I focused my attention on the boy in front of me instead. He had really short, brown hair with bright green eyes. Strangely, the toddler reminds me of someone, but nothing was connecting.

"Hey, kid. Where am I?" I asked.

"Where are you? You're nowhere."

"Nowhere, huh? Then, where are your parents?"

"I don't have parents."

"What do you mean?"

"I…don't remember if I have parents or not."

"Oh. I'm sorry, kid."

"It's okay! It's not like I really know them, but I do have memories of them."

"Memories?"

"Yeah…but it's not really clear. Plus…it's gets kind of lonely here sometimes."

"Well…since I'm stuck here. I'll play with you."

"Really?"

"Why not? So what do you want to play?"

"Well…" the boy said as he tapped his chin with his finger.

'Hahaha. This kid reminds me of Odd. Clueless, yet playful.' I grinned to myself, but then frowned. 'A machine, huh? Then do my friends mean nothing to me? What about my family? Did I ever actually have one?'

"Oh! I got one!"

"What is it?"

"Try and guess who I am!"

I frowned. "How do I do that?"

"Easy. You watch some of my past memories and try to guess from there."

"Why do you want me to do that?"

"Because…no one knows me. The only ones who knew, or remembered who I am, were my parents…but they had disappeared."

"Wait…I thought you said that you didn't remember your parents."

A tear fell from the boy's eyes. He began to rub it off, but more slowly streamed down.

"Every time I watch it, it's painful…no one remembered me…no one loved me again…"

'He's ignoring me…'

"Kid, I…" Then the light enshrouded me. "Wait! Kid!" I reached out my hand, but it grasped nothing.

I was teleported to a hospital. The style was old-fashioned because of the appearances of the low technological devices in the hospital room. In there was a woman feeding her newborn child while the father was conversing with a doctor.

"This was my mother." said the toddler near the hospital bed of the woman. "That was my father." He pointed to the doctor. "He's talking with my godfather. And this was me." He indicated to the feeding newborn.

"You have nice parents." I observed.

"And they loved me a lot…"

"I bet they did."

"They always told me that I was their hero, their little champion! Sometimes….I wonder if it's true."

"I bet it would be…"

The toddler blankly stared at me and walked towards my side. He grasped my hand and tugged it. We were teleported to another scenery. It was a cozy dwelling filled with cheerful laughter. The family was preparing a type of celebration, and fascinatingly, it was snowing outside.

"it's my birthday…"

"Your birthday?"

The toddler nodded. "I was really smart. My parents were surprised at my rapid development, but others were fearful. My mother said that someday I could change the world to be a better place for others." He turned to look up at me. "And I believed her."

We continued to watch the toddler's birthday past. The air was cheerful and the environment gave off a sense of joy. 'This must be what birthdays feel like…It's strange. I never really had this type of birthday with my "parents".'

"It must be painful…to watch this again and again."

"It is…" He tugged my hand and we were transferred to the city. The sidewalk was overcrowded with people hustling to their destination.

"Why are we here?"

"Because it's THAT fateful day."

I looked down to the toddler in question, but he had disappeared. I panicked and searched frantically until I spotted him in a park across the street. He was with his family, who were enjoying a picnic together. To me, it seems like a relaxing scene until the toddler raced after his bouncing ball. It stopped in the middle of the sidewalk to my relief until it was crushed by the sight of a couple of muscular-built, yakuza kids. 'There's yakuza here? What are they planning to do?' Suddenly two gunshots rang and a couple collapsed to the ground. 'WHAT?'

There were screaming and I turned to see that it was the boy's parents, who were shot. Standing with their weapons armed were two men dressed in black suits. They had these strange tattoos on their necks. 'They're…'

"Look out!"

I shifted my gaze on the toddler and saw the crash. The yakuza kids had pushed the toddler across the street. Before the child could react, a speeding reckless truck had crashed into the boy. Sounds of bone cracking was heard and blood was splattered along the asphalt ground.

"Kid!" I screamed and ran towards him.

_Hey, is he okay? _

_Someone call the ambulance! _

_Hey, there's a kid dying here!_

I knelt by the kid's side and held his small body against my chest as voices were ranting around me.

"Kid! Kid! Wake up! You can't die! Come on, kid!"

The child opened his eyes in slits. He mouthed some words that I couldn't read or comprehend.

"Kid. Speak up. Come on…we haven't finished our game yet! I still don't know who you are…"

With weak effort, he tugged my shirt and placed a finger on my forehead. Everything flashed before my eyes at that moment. The laboratory…the liquid tank…that black room…the red flash…the familiar voice…

_Live! If you want to live, then fight for it! Kid!_

I stumbled backwards form the limp body of the toddler on the road. Voices were screaming at me in my head. Electricity was surging through my body. I sensed a burning sensation engulfing my body.

"Who…am I?" the toddler softly asked.

I continued to back away slowly in disbelief. I couldn't speak. 'No. It can't be. This is all wrong!'

"Remember…who am I?"

'No! No!' _Please come back… _'It can't be…No!'

"What…is…my name?"

'This isn't right! It's a lie! This is another one of those dreams that Wolf is putting me under! What did Shadow call it? Genjutsu? It can't be.' _Please…_

I shut my eyes and covered my ears in an attempt to try to wake up from this genjutsu…from this…this…

"Please…tell me…who I am."

I felt a warm tear drop on me. It was recognizable…and loving…gentle… I opened my eyes and stared at the injured boy.

"Who…am I?" asked the boy urgently.

_I need you…_

"You're…you're me." I answered in a whisper.

The toddler smiled and nodded his head. I noticed that his entire being was slowly disintegrating.

"Then wake up." he ordered and vanished completely.


	20. Beginning of the End

Chapter 20: Beginning of the End

The mist began to clear and I tried to refocus my vision. It seems that I had ended up in the Konoha Village hospital again, but something was different. There was something warm and watery on my hand, but I still couldn't make out what it was. I tried again to refocus my vision.

'Blast these dots! I can't see anything.' _Ulrich? Ulrich! Is that you? _'Yeah, Fang. It's me.' _Where have you been? Do you know how long it took me to connect with your mind again? _'Fang…' _And not only that! Do you have any idea what I've been through for you? Tsunade had to autopsy your body! Do you know what that does to me? _'Fang…' _And do you know what's worse? Listening to Yumi cry! Do you hear me, you idiot! Yumi was crying! _'Fang! Listen! I know my past now. I know what really happened to me!' _Yeah, yeah! That's great and all, but did you even pay attention to what I was saying? _'Regarding what?' _UGH! Yumi was crying for you! _'Yumi? Yumi's here?' _Yeah, you big dope! Open your eyes._

I slit my eyes open a little bit more and made out a figure. She had tears streaming down the side of her cheeks and her face was flushed. Other either side of her were two blonde-headed gentlemen and a pink-haired girl.

'Is this everyone?' _They're all waiting for you._

"Y…Yu…Yumi…" I stuttered.

"Ulrich? Ulrich!" she exclaimed and wrapped herself around my neck.

She kept crying on my shoulder while everyone rushed towards my bedside.

"Are you alright?" asked Odd.

"Ulrich! I'm sorry! I didn't know this was going to happen! I'm sorry!" Jeremie shouted as tears rolled down his cheeks.

"Ulrich, you're okay! You're okay!" Aelita pointed out.

As all of this was happening, Franz continued to stand from afar and watch patiently.

"Hey, guys. Calm down. I'm fine…I'm fine." I said, trying to reassure my friends.

"I thought we'll never see you again…" whispered Yumi.

"Well…I'm here now, aren't I?" I replied, holding her more closely.

* * *

"The boy's awake now…does that mean that his parents' spirits are able to move on now?" asked Wolf, cocking his head to the side to face Shadow more closely.

"I guess…now that his parents' seal is now off. We can proceed with the training." Shadow continued with his eyes closed and his body lounging against the tree.

"So, wait a minute. The only reason why you nearly blew yourself up to death was so that you can free his friends from XANA. But what about the boy? What were your plans for him?" questioned Jagger.

"You're so slow." exclaimed Razorclaw.

"What's that suppose to mean, you sadistic jaguar?" growled Jagger.

"What he means is that you've got everything all wrong." explained Wolf.

"How?"

"Think of everything as a game of chess. You plan everything else according to what you want to play in order to beat your opponent." continued Shadow.

"And your point is?"

"Every game is easily predictable. Once you can predict your opponent's moves, you can counterattack. Once it's successful, you aim for their leader. Take down the leader, you win the game. It's simple, really. Life is a game you can gamble your life on. Gamble correctly, you win…and might even be able to live another day. Gamble incorrectly, you lose everything. And in this case, I plan to win…no matter the cost."

"But how'd you know?"

"Know what?" Shadow asked while twirling a dandelion in his hand.

"The boy's parents." Razorclaw answered.

Shadow placed his hand on his right eye. "The first time I saw the kid, my canine eye detected a type of disturbance on the boy's aura. I suspected a seal since it resembles the same pattern as Naruto's before the breaking of his seal. As I spent more time with him, I learned more about his current history." Shadow dropped his hand from his eye and stared out into the open field. "He and I…we're really not that different. We feel the same pain…the same loss. Following my judgment, my suspicions were clear."

"And that may be?"

"His parents. My suspicion was in regard to their influence on him. Like where have they been his entire life."

"In a way, he resembles you." Jagger pointed out.

"But the boy's parents on Earth…" Razorclaw retorted.

"Were his foster parents. They know nothing about his mutation." Wolf replied.

"Was this information found in his documentations…or any type of governmental files?"

Wolf nodded his head and tilted his head towards Shadow.

"Wow…and the kid never knew about it." Jagger whistled.

"Until now." remarked Razorclaw.

Jagger laughed and looked down towards his little brother. "Come to think of it. That Ulrich kid really reminds me a lot like you. You know…when you were so carefree before the war broke out. Now I wonder where that little kid went cause right below me isn't a kid anymore, but a full-fledged assassin. Hahaha."

Shadow glanced away from his brother and continued to stare into the sunset while petting Wolf's fury head.

"He did resemble you a lot, Shadow. But to think that you took a gamble on the kid's life by informing him the complete opposite of the truth." stated Razorclaw.

"Though I gambled correctly." Shadow sneered.

"That wasn't the point!" protested Razorclaw.

"Evil…" added Jagger in a playful tone.

"Of course, he took it from his grandfather's side." snickered Wolf, who had just earned himself a smack on the head by Shadow.

"Oh, I just remembered. What do you mean by 'proceeding' with the training? Haven't you have already started that?" asked Jagger.

"Di dyou really think tha the game is almost to the end? Then you're wrong. This is just the end of the climax. The REAL fun is just starting." Shadow tilted his head upwards and smiled. It's just the beginning of their final stand."

* * *

"So that's what really happened." I said as I listened completely to Franz's story about my history of creation and the events that had happened in our dimension while I was away.

"Not only that, it seems that we can't bring you back from Lyoko." Jeremie explained while fidgeting with his fingers nervously.

"Ulrich, we're sorry." apologized Aelita.

"Don't worry too much about it! I bet there's some way to bring me back." I chuckled.

There was only silence and the atmosphere emitted a sense of grim.

"What's the matter? Was it something I said?"

"Ulrich…" Yumi started and turned to face me, which was difficult since she was sitting on my lap on the hospital bed. "XANA destroyed all the scanners to Lyoko…"

"Every last one." added Odd.

I stared at everyone's blank expressions and began to tighten my hold around Yumi's waist for comfort.

"So I can't come back…"

"Ulrich…" Yumi tried to comfort.

"That's not true." Franz answered in proclamation.

He stood up from his chair and walked towards the window. All of us stared at Franz in confusion and anticipation.

'What does he mean?' _Virtual-deportation. _'Huh?'

"Virtual-deportation. It's like Shadow's dimensional teleportation, but it only connects with Earth and Lyoko. In other words, it's exactly like the scanners, but…" explained Franz.

"It uses DNA." finished Jeremie.

"So that's how XANA got to Earth! He used Ulrich's DNA!" shouted Odd in anger.

"But how does Ulrich use the virtual-deportation? He no longer possesses his own DNA." questioned Aelita.

"He wouldn't need his DNA. He would use another's. Someone who doesn't belong to our world." Franz resolved.

"And how are we suppose to find this person?" asked Yumi.

"Oh no…no. We are not!" I protested.

"We don't have a choice. Right now, he's the best we have."

"How can we even trust Shadow? He's the one who placed me in a coma!"

"But he must have a reason for that!"

"Yeah, he has a reason. To kill me! Maybe he's a double agent. Or maybe he's working for XANA!"

"He couldn't have! He risked his life to save us!" defended Aelita.

"It's true. If it weren't for him, we won't be here speaking with you right now." Yumi added by gripping softly on my arms.

"He's on our side." Jeremie continued, backing Aelita up.

"That's for sure." Odd grinned.

"I…I don't know." I pondered.

"Ulrich…" Franz insisted.

Before I heard Franz's persuasion, there were two light thumps heard outside of the door.

'Friend?' _Foe. _'Traitor?' _Intruder. _'Shinobi?' _Mercenary. _'Type.' _Assassin._

I reflexively grabbed a kunai from my ankle pocket and positioned it in front of me. Everyone stared at me in shock, but I kept my focus on the door. I slightly spotted a thin shadow against the opaque door panel.

'This is bad.' _Really bad…prepare yourself._

The doorknob slowly turned to opena s I felt a drop of sweat slide down my face.

"Oh, Ulrich. Are you awake now?" sang the voice.

'Wait. I recognize that voice.' _It can't be…Him? Here?_

I could feel Yumi tighten her hold around me and everyone huddling closely against each other near me.

"Hahahaha. That's right, Ulrich. It's me. I've come to visit." continued the singing voice. "Hope you didn't miss your brother too much!"

I prepared myself for the lunge once the door was breached.

'There's no way I'm losing to him…no, not to XANA! Not now!'

The doorknob was fully turned and the door was a couple of milliseconds away from being barged through.

'It's now…or never.' _Now!_

The door was breached and a shadow sprang forward hungrily for my throat.


	21. War

Chapter 21: War

XANA charged at me at full force for my throat, which I luckily had managed to block. Focusing my chakra into my arm, I threw XANA back against the opposite wall. He slammed against the wall with a thud and repositioned himself for another attack. Odd and Aelita unsheathed their projectile weapons and aimed them at XANA. Yumi dispersed her fans and held them in the same position that I had held my kunai.

"It's over, XANA! It's 6 against 1. You're outnumbered." Franz declared with his laser gun pointed at XANA.

"Hahaha. It's not over…until I say it's over!" XANA answered while pulling out a round object.

He pressed a blue button on it and threw it at me.

'That's a…' _Bomb! _'Yumi…'

I threw Yumi away from my lap and into Aelita and Odd. The bomb detonated and everything crumbled from its explosion. The floor and ceiling gave way, and everything began to fall apart quickly. Falling in mid-air, I saw my friends began to plummet to their doom.

'No. I can't let this happen! Not again. Not ever!' _Ulrich! _'I got to save them!' _Ulrich! Concentrate. _'I got to…' _Ulrich! _

"YUMI!"

Another explosion erupted and smoke engulfed all of them from the others' sight.

* * *

"Did you hear that?" asked Jagger.

"If you're talking about that explosion and that voice, then yeah!" Shadow replied while slashing his kunai against a Sound ninja.

The Sound ninja fell to his knees and was dead. The others followed the same as their fallen comrade. Shadow walked up to one of them and began to search them for any vital information that he could get. He found a pamphlet in one of the ninja's pouches and read its contents. His face became grim as he read every word. After skimming through the document, he tossed it to Jagger to read.

"Looks like Madara is making his move on Konoha." Shadow whispered grimly.

"Not only that. Judging from this information, Kabuto is joining him…along with Sasuke." Jagger added.

"Naruto's not going to like this at all."

"On top of that, we have to get Ulrich and his friends out of here. Before everything gets out of hand."

"I think everything already is." Shadow turned to face his brother. "The only problem is…who is going to survive this crisis."

"We have to warn Naruto and rally all of the other shinobis for a counterattack."

"From what I'm perceiving here, the party has already begun."

"Oh man! Guess we missed the cake, huh?"

"And we're here for the gift opening." Shadow smirked.

"Come on! We have to get to Ulrich." Jagger started to run down the corridor to Ulrich's hospital room on the second floor.

"We don't need to."

"Why not?" Jagger stops to look at his little brother.

"Because he's right outside the window." Shadow pointed outside.

"What?" Jagger ran back towards his brother to see where he was pointing.

* * *

I took me a while to recover from the impact of falling nearly 20 feet off the ground. When I felt around me, it was nothing like the concrete ground that I was expecting. It was thick, brunette fur. I jolted up from surprise and a slim of fear.

"Fang?" I shouted.

"Glad to see that you're awake, kid. And I can't forget the fact that it actually feels nice to be out in the open! RAWR!" Fang replied.

"Whoa! Calm down, big fella!" I answered. "Wait. Where's everyone?"

"And Yumi? Check around my head, you idiot."

I looked around me and searched frantically for them. I prayed that they were alright and weren't lying dead below us. Once I had finally found them about 30 meters away, I sighed in relief and crawled towards them. I checked each one of them for any signs of serious injuries, which there weren't, but they were currently unconscious. I crawled closer to Yumi and held her closely to my chest.

"Yumi…Yumi…" I whispered in her ear. "Are you okay?"

She stirred a little in my arms. It relieved me a little that she was fine, but I had too find a medic ninja to make sure that her injuries were healed. She had a few scratches on her, which was very fortunate compared to mine.

"Don't think you're out of the blue yet, brother." XANA rushed at me in a type of electrical field.

I tried to create a force field to counter XANA's, but he was too quick.

"Shield!" shouted Aelita and she forced XANA back at least 14 feet away from the group.

I laid Yumi down and charged for XANA. We collided and fell onto Fang's snout. I clung onto Fang's fur for guidance, but nearly slipped when XANA yanked on my leg. We tumbled down a little further to the edge, but Fang tilted his head to keep me stabilized.

"Ulrich! You're going to have to hang on tight!"

"Like I'm not right now?" I hysterically questioned.

"No, seriously. Hang on!"

I turned to see what he was facing. There was an enormous violet snake slithering before us. It flung its neck back and lunged for Fang, but Fang held it down with its fangs. His entire body jerked from the impact almost causing me to release my hold on Fang's fur.

"Watch it, Fang! The others might fall off too!" I warned.

"Like I haven't noticed that I have freeloading passengers!"

I searched around for any sign of XANA. Suddenly, I spotted him climbing up Fang's side to reach me. 'This just gets better and better, doesn't it?' I looked to where everyone was. Odd had finally regained consciousness and was aiming his gauntlet at XANA.

"Ulrich! I hope I don't hit you!"

"Odd! You better have good aim!"

"Alright then, here goes nothing. Laser arrow!" shouted Odd.

A few projectile arrows began to fire upon XANA, but it had little effect.

"Try more! But watch out for me!"

"Why?" asked Aelita, who was kneeling next to Yumi.

"Because of this!" I released my grip and landed on top of XANA.

We fell down the side of Fang and began to tussle for control over the other while plummeting straight towards the ground below.

"Ulrich!" screamed Franz.

* * *

Once they both had looked outside, Jagger was in shock. "How'd he?"

"He improved quicker than I had thought." Shadow smiled.

Standing outside of their window was a colossal brown wolf with 6 people upon its head. "Looks like Fang is out for the kill." sneered Shadow.

"Is this really the time to be making sadistic jokes?" Jagger asked angrily.

"Oh, I don't know. Depends on what you mean by time." Shadow chuckled.

"Not funny." Jagger said as he sprinted for the exit. "We have to get to the battle zone. Those Konoha shinobis might need our help against those Sound ninjas and Madara. Unless you're too stuck up in your past that you refuse to help those who really need you."

Shadow stared after his brother and turned to glance back at Ulrich and his friends on Fang's head. He sighed and watched down below the hospital where ninjas were fighting each other. People were running for cover and children were crying for their parents to stay with them and not die on the war zone. Medic shinobis were gathering the women and children into the mountains of the Hokages. Jonins were directing other lower-ranking ninjas to their positions while fighting off the intruders. Fire has started to spread out among the village and explosions were heard around every corner. All Shadow could do was stand there and watch all the catastrophe occur. He closed his eyes and listened to the turmoil of the village.

"This world…these humans. They're worthless. So why are you protecting them? Eh, Naruto?"

"Because I'm the Hokage." Naruto said as he emerged from the shadows. "These villagers…they are everything to me. They are my family. That's why I want to protect them."

"Heh…family. What's a family? People who love you for whatever you are…who'll stand by with you to the end. Those people don't exist. Love doesn't exist. They're things that people want to believe in so that they may have a reason to live. They're nothing." Shadow scoffed.

"Then why did you believe in that boy? Why did you hope?"

"Hahaha…it's because I'm weak. Only the weak hopes for the future. There is no future…not for me."

"Is it because of your curse? Because Ulrich is not bounded by the same fate as you that you become jealous and cold-hearted?"

"Ulrich doesn't understand anything! He never will. Not when he lives in his own safe world." Shadow yelled.

"I believe he has learned more than you."

Shadow turned in disbelief at his brother. Naruto continued to watch the scene outside with Ulrich and XANA.

"He's stronger than you'll ever be because he's got something that you never wish to achieve. He's got love…he's got friends…he's got family."

Shadow turned to glance at Ulrich and his duel with XANA. He contemplated at the fact and looked down in shame.

"You can be stronger, Shadow. You're just at the minimum of your powers, but you can reach to greater heights. First…you have to learn to let your vengeance go. I know how that must feel. To have your entire race…your family…your parents…be ripped out of your hands by your grandfather. You may not know who he sent…whether they're human, yokai, or even Animalian, but Shadow! Get out of your past and come back to the present! We need you now. You can hate humans…and vampires another time…but not now…" Naruto continued urgently.

Shadow closed his eyes and sighed. He glanced outside the window again and saw Ulrich at the near end of his strength. Ulrich was struggling with all his might to fend off XANA while his friends ward off the Krabs.

"Ulrich!" shouted Yumi outside.

"Hang in there!" screamed Aelita.

"Ulrich!" Jeremie and Odd yelled.

Shadow slowly lowered his hand to his mech arm. He pulled out his berretta and loaded it. Slowly looking up at his brother, he grinned and nodded his head.

"Let's roll." Shadow said as he prepared to jump out of the window, which happened to be the quickest route of escape for him.

Naruto joined him at the window until Shadow caught a glimmer of movement at the far corner of the corridor. He aimed his berretta in that direction and fired. The shot missed the target and the figure emerged from the wall.

"Leaving so soon, gentlemen? But the fun has just begun…" said a voice in the shadows.

"Madara…" Naruto and Shadow whispered simultaneously.


	22. According to Plan

Chapter 22: According to Plan

XANA and I started tumbling down Fang's side. Each trying to gain the upperhand over the other. I kept deflecting XANA's punches while throwing some right back at him, who was mimicking the same tactic.

'How's he able to keep up with my movements?'

We kept lunging for each other's throats, but the result was unsuccessful. Trying to elongate our impact time to the ground, I extended my hand and skidded down Fang's side. Again, the struggle continued endlessly.

"Krabs!" XANA summoned with a wave of his hand.

Springing from the ground were 20 metallic Krabs. They launched themselves at Fang, who was still holding onto Kabuto's serpent.

"We have to defend Fang! If Fang goes down, then we all go down!" Franz commanded and aimed his laser at the Krabs.

"Laser arrow!" Odd fired his arrows, which struck its mark.

"Energy field!" Aelita launched her energy force and managed to knock down a few Krabs.

"Aelita! Put up a force field around us!" Yumi yelled as she joined Franz.

Franz and Yumi covered Fang's other side with the same results as Odd and Aelita.

"Ulrich!" Yumi yelled as she continued to watch Ulrich skid down Fang's side.

"Yumi! Krab!" Franz warned.

Yumi threw her fan and jumped in time to dodge the laser that it had shot at her before it collapsed to the ground.

"Concentrate! Ulrich knows what's he doing! Don't worry too much about him!" Franz continued as he fired more rounds of his gun at the oncoming Krabs.

Finally, I released my grip on XANA's shoulder blade and clung more firmly onto Fang.

"Hey! Watch it!" Fang howled in protest at the sudden jerk on his fur.

"Sorry…there was nothing else for me to hang onto!" I explained breathlessly.

"Ulrich!" Yumi leaned over to stretch out her hand for me.

I climbed slowly up. "This is more difficult than rock climbing." I grumbled.

"Good thing you got over your vertigo." Fang exclaimed.

"Too true." I extended my hand up to grab Yumi until a premonition hit me.

I pushed Yumi up slightly and ducked when a laser was shot right at me. Fang roared him pain and jerked his entire body upwards. Hanging on for dear life, everyone held tightly onto Fang's fur. Once he was slightly settled from the wound, I climbed quickly to the top. Yumi bent over again and extended her hand. Before our fingers touched, I caught Jeremie's face from the corner of my eye. His face had a dread expression once he had helped Aelita in forming a barrier around Fang. I gave him a raised eyebrow in which he responded with a finger pointed at me. Then, everything else happened in a flash.

"Behind you!" he shouted, but it was too late.

I felt a sliding sharpness between my shoulder blades, which temporarily paralyzed me. XANA had unexpectedly climbed up closely behind me and drew his dagger to plunge into my back. I roared in pain and futilely tried to throw him off my back. Yumi tried to grab my shirt so that I wouldn't fall backwards, but everything was happening so fast. I lost my grip, and XANA and I both plummeted down to the battleground beneath us.

"No!" Yumi screamed in fright.

The next thing I felt was the powerful recoil from the impact to the ground. I could feel every bone snapping, every vessel bursting open, and my senses turning black.

* * *

Debris was flying everywhere and bullet shots rang through the hallway. Shadow consistently fired his berretta in Madara's direction, but he kept fazing through his attacks. Madara rushed straight at Shadow with an extended hand that clasped onto his throat. Lifting Shadow up off his feet, he focused his chakra into performing a genjutsu using his Sharigan. Shadow struggled frantically in Madara's grip, trying to free himself before Madara could perform a genjutsu. Charging at full force, Naruto slammed into Madara's side, trying to throw him off. Shadow sidestepped from Naruto's onslaught and rolled for cover near a cracked wall.

"Geez!" Shadow shouted as another bomb detonated. "Where are all these bombs coming from?"

Debris continued to fly and the floor groaned form the lack of support below.

"Arg! Rasengan!" Naruto rammed again at Madara with a rasengan forming in his hand.

Jumping from his hideout, Shadow aimed at Madara. "Point blank!"

Another aura of energy was blasted at Madara, which finally hit its mark with the rasengan. Unexpectedly, the roof caved in above us as the floor collapsed beneath us from the sudden blast. Naruto kicked me out of the way of a falling rock as he grappled himself onto Madara. They struggled to drag the other downward to break the other's fall. Luckily for Naruto's boost, Shadow clung onto a stable ledge and using his free hand, shot a web-like rope at Naruto's back, but it never reached him. Naruto was teleported to another place by Madara so the rope attached itself onto another boulder. The jerk on the other end nearly caused Shadow to lose his grip, but he still held on.

"Naruto…No!" Shadow shouted through clenched teeth.

His mind began to race about the possibilities that Madara could do with Naruto.

"They're probably starting to take the Nine-Tailed Fox out of him. I've got to…"

"Shadow!" shouted a voice from below.

He looked down and noticed that it was Kakashi-sensei, who was covered in battle scars.

Shadow leaped down from the ledge and ran towards Kakashi. "Kakashi…they got him. They got Naruto!"

"There's not much time now. We have to save him…but first, you must get Ulrich and his friends out of here and into their own dimension." Kakashi calmly said.

"But Naruto…"

"Don't worry about him. He's the Eighth Hokage. He can take care of himself. Hopefully, a squad and I would be able to make it in time to free him. Until then, get Ulrich back to his home."

"How am I able to do that? Didn't XANA use his DNA?"

"He did…but there's another way."

"You don't mean…"

"Virtual-deportation."

"If I do that…I might not be able to ever return to that dimension. They wouldn't be able to get help!"

"There's no other choice. If they do need help, then we'll send in Jagger."

Shadow began to huff. "Alright. Once I get Ulrich back to his world, I'm coming back to join the search squad…we can't let anything happen to you if Naruto turns out to die on us."

"You don't have to worry too much about me…"

"Of course we do. You're the Seventh Hokage. If the Eighth Hokage or the Fifth Hokage goes, then we need you to help rebuild this Village after we take care of these nuisances."

"I can't…you need to defend the Village."

"That's not the point now! We need you after this is over!"

"You can't just depend on one person to lead! Shadow…there will be others who can reform this Village and continue its fire."

"Who? There's no one here who's like the other Hokages!"

"You…"

Shadow stared at Kakashi in shock. "What…What are you talking about?"

"In my will…if I do die…I have decided with the Fifth and Eighth."

"Naruto agreed to this?"

"Yes. If any one of us dies…you, Shadow, will become the next Hokage."

Shadow backed away from Kakashi and tried to maintain his racing mind. He shook his head violently and glanced at his sensei. He turned his back towards Kakashi and began to walk away.

"Shadow, you're right! There is no one like us, but there is…you are the one! You've been trained by the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, me, and Eighth. You've become the brother of the Eighth, my apprentice, the closest advisor of the Fifth. There is no one who is like you, Shadow. You've outlived them…and now, you'll outlive us. You're the only one who can possibly understand these people. Shadow! They're your family! They've been your family!"

Shadow stopped in his tracks. "I already know that…that's why…" he turned to face Kakashi. "I'm going to do whatever it takes to keep all of you alive."

"Shadow…"

"I'm tired…I'm tired of having to see everyone…everyone who's close to me…die right before my eyes. I'm sick of it! That's why…promise me…that you'll stay alive until I come back."

"I promise…"

Shadow smirked. "Good…" and flashed towards Ulrich.

"I hope there's still time…" Shadow thought to himself as searched for Ulrich's aura.

* * *

"Nothing ever goes according to plan…" _Whoever says it does?_

I had woken up from that deathly fall and luckily was still able to stand on my own two feet. I staggered a little to gain some movement and momentum. Straining my senses to detect any suspicious movements, I scanned the ground level. XANA was nowhere to be seen.

'What's going on here?' _Genjutsu. _'Whose?' _His…_

I turned to look up from where Fang was in front of me. Fang had lowered his head to lift me up in which I took in appreciation. Once we were at Fang's eye level, I realized what he was talking about. Standing before us on that purple snake were both Kabuto and Sasuke.

"Ulrich!" shouted Yumi from behind. "Are you alright?"

She came up to me and examined my bruised body. I nodded my head and wrapped her in my arms.

"I'm fine. Just a little shaken up." I assured her by gently squeezing her. "But it seems like we're going to have our hands full here." I averted my gaze to the people before us.

Yumi held tightly onto my arm and nodded her head in understanding. "Who are they?"

"They were friends…but traitors to the Village." I sighed.

"Wow! Hey Jeremie! It looks like I'm going to need bigger arrows for that snake." Odd humorously exclaimed.

"Forget bigger. More like sharper." Jeremie calculated.

"If you want sharp, kid. Then I have some here." Fang teased as he bared his fangs.

"This is no time to joke around, boys. From here on in, things are going to get more seriously intense than what we had planned." Franz warned.

"Are we really going to fight them?" Aelita curiously asked.

"Looks like we don't have much of a choice." I replied.

"But Franz, really. When has everything ever go according to plan?" Odd joked.

"It doesn't, huh?" Yumi answered.

"Of course, it never does." Shadow appeared next to them on Fang's head.

"Shadow…" I whispered.

"I was wondering where you've been." Fang snorted.

"Look on the bright side, I came in time to greet the party guests." Shadow continued.

"More like party crashers." Odd added.

Shadow chuckled, which caused me to flinch. I stared at the guy in surprise. 'He's laughing?' _Your point? _'I've never heard him laugh before!' _Really? Then you must've been deaf lately._

"Ulrich. I have a plan, but I'm going to need your cooperation." Shadow exclaimed.

"And what makes you think that I'll help you?" I angrily asked. "How could you? You knew all along, didn't you? Everything that has happened to me…you've been playing coy with me!" I pointed accusingly.

"Look! I know we're not on good terms right now…but listen. So what if I knew? I was only trying to help you!"

"Help me? You nearly tried to kill me!"

"I was trying to make you realize things that you have never thought to consider!"

I quieted myself and pondered upon his words. "What?"

Shadow groaned and bit his bottom lip. "Think! What is XANA…what IS he?"

"I don't know!"

"Then figure it out, you blockhead!" Shadow scolded. "But right now is not the time!"

"Then we're going to proceed with that?" asked Franz.

"What's THAT?" Jeremie questioned curiously.

Shadow grinned and cocked his head to the side as he glanced at Kabuto and Sasuke. "Plan B."


	23. Plan B

Chapter 23: Plan B

"Plan B?" Aelita wondered.

"Plan B is a plan that Shadow and I made about 5 weeks ago…before Ulrich's journey began." Franz explained.

"Then what are we going to do?" Odd asked.

"Simple. We outrun these guys and get to a safer location to discuss more about it." Shadow pointed.

"And how'd you expect us to outrun them?" Fang growled, surging with fighting energy.

"That's why I'm here…" Shadow replied as he bit his finger, drawing blood.

Sliding his bleeding thumb along his mech arm, he performed some hand signs and leaped off of Fang's head.

"Are you crazy?" I shouted, thinking that he was probably going to commit suicide.

Ignoring me, he placed his hand in front of him. "Summoning Jutsu!"

Smoke erupted out of nowhere as it engulfed Shadow. Everyone stood in their places in anticipation.

'What's he summoning?' _You mean, who… _'Yeah…do you know?' _Yeah… _'Then who is it?' _An old friend…_

The smoke finally cleared to reveal a colossal black wolf. It resembles Fang, but it emitted a more malicious aura. Its eyes were the same as Shadow's: cold, merciless, and deathly.

"Ripper, you think you can handle them?" asked Shadow to his arriving companion.

"Ripper?" everyone shouted.

"Ripper smiled and nodded his head. "Take as long as you want, I'm going to enjoy every last minute of this…"

Shadow jumped onto Fang and leaned close to his ear. "Hope you can run as fast as the wind."

With a snap of a finger, a flame emerged on his pointer finger. Aiming it on Fang's weak patch of fur, Shadow fired the flame, causing Fang to yelp and lunge forward.

"Hang on!" Shadow shouted as he knelt down to grasp some of Fang's fur.

Fang launched himself into the air, nearly causing everyone to fall off his back. I grabbed onto Yumi and held her tightly close to me. Franz huddled Aelita, Jeremie, and Odd into his arms. We flew backwards, but a strong force held us down. I looked up and saw that Shadow had raised his hand. His eyes were glowing red and feral while his brows were narrowed in concentration. Staring at him in awe, I saw something dark swirling around him. It was menacing, yet calming…powerful, yet gentle.

"What are you?" I whispered.

He stared at me in silence. "A monster…beyond your wildest imagination." he calmly growled.

* * *

"Where is he?" Jagger roared as he interrogated an injured Sound ninja.

"I'm…not…telling…you!" the Sound ninja refused.

Jagger growled and tossed the ninja aside. He ran through the streets of the Village and scanned for any survivors…or intruders.

"This is bad…if Madara's here, then there will be an endless massacre…" Jagger mumbled to himself as he continued to sprint.

"ARGH!" a voice rang form above.

Jagger sidestepped his aggressor and drew his kunai. Clashing their weapons together, Jagger grabbed the assassin's arm and twisted him onto his back. Landing with a lound thus, Jagger threw a hard punch on the aggressor's chest, which resulted into his breathlessness. Standing up, Jagger looked at the shinobi and noticed that he was no longer moving.

"Weak… Jagger huffed quietly.

He looked upwards to check the rooftops of each building. Instinctively, Razorclaw emerged form Jagger's tattooed arm and stood by his side.

"Can you feel that?" Razorclaw asked.

"You mean those vibrations?" Jagger narrowed his eyes ahead.

"I can feel Ripper's aura and that snake's…"

"Then Shadow must be heading towards the dimension portal."

"Is he going to initiate Plan B?" Razorclaw tilted his head upwards to Jagger.

"If he is, then we better get into position." Jagger bit his finger to draw blood.

"Are you going to send Drigger to the frontlines?" Razorclaw grinned.

"That's the plan." He slid his bleeding finger on his left arm and performed some hand signs.

"Ready?" Jagger placed his hand on the ground."

"Always…" Razorclaw glowered.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

* * *

"Did you feel that?" asked Striker to his brothers.

"Yeah…but did you also hear that clicking sound?" Zero replied while listening intensely.

"Clicking sound? I don't think it's something that's clicking…" Axel roamed around the room.

"It's more like something's…coming." Dragger moved closer to the elevator.

"Dragger, move!" Zero lunged towards his brother, but both were blown back by an explosion.

The warriors coughed from the flowing black smoke.

"What was that?" Striker groaned.

"Trouble…" Axel coughed.

They got up slowly to their feet as a down armed creature stepped forwards from te blackness.

"What are they?" Zero unsheathed his claws.

"They must've escaped from Lyoko." Dragger guessed.

"How?" Striker shifted his hands into talons.

"Because I willed it." a voice explained in the dark.

"Show yourself!" Axel commanded.

A man stepped forth with a dark smile on his face. He had brunette hair and looked similar to the boy they were guarding. The difference was the strange markings on his face and the killing intent in his eyes.

"I knew Ulrich had bodyguards, but I wouldn't have thought that someone could've hired the Demon Brothers to do the dirty work…" XANA stretched his arms out and smiled maliciously. "Welcome to the end…and it would truly be an honor if you'll be the first of your kind…" XANA bowed. "To die…"

The room lit up in a bright light. It engulfed everyone in its path and erupted into oblivion.

* * *

"Aaahhh!" everyone yelled as they all splashed into the icy waters of the lake.

Shadow chuckled softly to himself on top of Fang's head as everyone slowly emerged to the surface.

"You know…I would've ran instead of you having to shoot me back there." Fang grumbled.

"True…but it wouldn't be as fun." Shadow sneered. "How's the water?"

"Freezing!" Odd shivered.

"Good…shows me that I got your attention."

Shadow jumped from Fang's head and landed softly onto the surface of the water. He knelt beside my head and looked beyond the horizon.

"Can you sense someone?" Shadow asked.

"Yeah. And they're gaining some distance here…at a very fast pace. So…Plan B…"

Shadow nodded to Franz. "We are going to create two fronts in this war." Franz explained.

"One here…and the other in your world." Shadow added.

"But Ulrich can't…" Yumi retorted.

"That problem is already solved. And the second front has already been formed. My brothers are already at the factory, trying to subdue XANA as much as they can."

"Then the XANA earlier…" I exclaimed.

"Was a genjutsu formed by Sasuke's Sharigan." Shadow clarified.

"When you said you already solved Ulrich's problem, what do you mean?" Jeremie questioned.

Shadow turned to face me. "I'm going to transfer my DNA to you for the virtual-deportation."


	24. Double Front

Chapter 24: Double Front

Naruto ran as fast as he could towards the Village.

"I hope I'm not too late…" he grumbled to himself as he continued to push his broken body forward.

His duel with Madara was beyond his expectations. He never knew that Madara had stolen Nagato's Rinnegan. If he hadn't dodged that previous attack as quickly as he did, he wouldn't have made it through the fight. Though that was not the case, he had surprised Madara with an upper kick that temporarily paralyzed him for a moment so that he could release his newest creation to the rasengan on him. Madara took the full effect of the rasengan, which ended in his victory. Unfortunately for him now, the aftereffects were taking a toll on him as it did to Madara.

"Come on, you damn fox! I need your healing! Your chakra!" Naruto shouted internally to the Fox.

Naruto huffed and collapsed onto the ground from exhaustion. He had nearly depleted his chakra to zero, which could result to his immediate death. Struggling to get up to his feet again, he kept pushing himself to move using the trees.

"The Village…I have to…" he strained.

Suddenly, he felt himself being pulled into a pair of strong arms. They were supporting him to his feet again and transferring healing energy through his body.

"I got you! Just hang in there…" said the voice calmly.

"Are they safe?" Naruto asked with drooping eyes.

The stranger nodded his head and continued on with him being dragged behind.

"So…you can't go back?"

"Not as long as he still has a part of me…"

"That's too bad. You could've stopped him quicker than the rest…"

"Hahaha…we can't always do whatever we want."

"Where'd you learn that?"

"Master Yoda."

"True. But we can try…"

"Rest a little now…the war's beginning."

Then Naruto closed his eyes and let exhaustion capture him into a deep sleep as the stranger dragged the both of them towards the battlefield.

* * *

"RAWR!" Ripper roared as he jumped onto the snake's back and dug his fangs into his scaled body.

The snake writhed under the weight of the wolf as Drigger tackled it at the tail end.

"Hey! Slow down there, Drigger!" Jagger shouted over the snapping and hissing of the massive creatures.

Kunais clashed and a sword slipped across Jagger's cheek, causing a deep gush. Jagger slew his claws against Kabuto's chest and propelled the both of them off of the snake's side.

"Jagger!" Razorclaw snarled after his fallen leader as he dodged Sasuke's chidori.

Jagger twisted himself to land square on his feet as Kabuto floated slowly down.

"I believe we haven't met before." Kabuto calmly said.

"Like I'm going to introduce myself to you!" Jagger snarled furiously.

"It's not like I'm asking…" Kabuto devilishly smirked.

Jagger rushed, but was deflected. "Enough talking…let's finish this!" Jagger snarled maliciously.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." He grinned and lurched forward.

Razorclaw leaped downwards onto Kabuto's back and sank his teeth into his shoulder. Kabuto hissed in pain and thrust his kunai into Razorclaw's paw, which Jagger blocked with his forearm. Jagger stifled a groan and grappled Kabuto into a strong hold. Kabuto countered with a poison strike to his abdomen. With forceful effort, Jagger tightened his grip and successfully dislocated Kabuto's right shoulder while Razorclaw continued to latch his fangs into his left shoulder.

"Huh! It's not over yet." Kabuto remarked as he shed his skin.

"Shoot!" Jagger cursed before he was blown back by Kabuto's sudden lunge.

Kabuto grasped onto Razorclaw's neck in which he crushed with ease and tossed him onto the ground. Razorclaw lie unconscious and unmoving while a pool of blood formed around his head.

"Razorclaw!" Jagger screamed.

He got back to his feet and dashed towards his fallen comrade.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you…" Kabuto plainly informed.

"What?" Jagger exclaimed.

"Chidori!" Sasuke thrust his chidori through Jagger's ribs…and to his heart.

* * *

"Wind Strike!" Striker blasted a slicing wind at the armed creatures.

From the air, he was able to oversee the enemies below, but judging from the numbers, he wasn't sure how long they could last.

"This isn't going too well…" he thought to himself.

"Ground Break!" Dragger shouted below as he created an uprising earthquake.

"Burn!" Zero summoned flames to engulf his enemies.

"Water Dragon!" Axel bended the surrounding waters to form a monstrous dragon to drown a few of the intruders.

Striker swooped down by Zero's side and slashed his talons against one of his assaulters.

"We're not going to last long from this." he said as he threw a giant, mechanical crab off the bridge.

"Not after we took a blow head-on like that one." Zero reached down to his bleeding side.

"If it weren't for Axel's shield…"

"We would've been dead."

A few more clashes were heard until they saw Dragger smashing machines towards their direction. He was grasping machine after machine and tearing them apart. Once he had reached them, his fury clamed a little.

"This is getting ridiculous. I can't even see my way around this bridge with these guys still roaming about shooting like they have limitless ammo." Dragger complained breathlessly.

"You think you've got it bad?" Axel leaped out of the waters and scaled up the bridge. "I think I've already drowned over 2 thousand of those guys."

"Want to switch?" Dragger teased.

"As if you could breathe underwater…you're betting yourself to die."

"I would not!"

"Yeah…that would be the day when Zero says that he's no longer afraid of taking showers."

"I'm not afraid of showers! I just hate them!" Zero corrected. "And water…"

"Right…"

"Fire and water don't mix, smart one!" Zero retorted.

"Um…guys! I know we enjoy mocking each other and all, but we've got bigger problems." Striker pointed.

"What's he doing?" Dragger tilted his head to the side.

"Is that…" Axel had a confused look.

"Armageddon." Zero finished his brother's question.

Emerging from the dilapidated factory was a massive, robotic figure. Its structure resembles that of a mech machine, but with heavy artilleries attached to its every part.

"This brings back memories!" Zero declared.

"Really? Which one? The Behemoth incident in Kazuma's world, or that stolen Mithril technology in Sosuke's?" Dragger asked as he stared in disbelief with his brothers.

"Both…" Striker and Axel answered with their jaws slacked.

"Wow! Is that the party favor?" a voice cheered from behind.

The warriors turned around defensively until they noticed that they were surrounded by allies.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the calvary coming to the rescue. We were wondering when you will show up." Zero stated in relief.

"Sorry…we got stuck in traffic." I exclaimed.

"Like most say, better late than never." Striker remarked.

"Speaking of late…anyone thought of a plan yet?" Axel added as he stared off at the Armageddon.

"You know what I've learn these past few seconds ago? Plans never work." I snorted.

"What do you suggest then?" Dragger scolded.

"Charge!" Odd sprinted towards the factory.

"Is he crazy?" Zero shouted.

Suddenly, more cries rang as we ran after Odd in support.

"More like all of them…" Axel stared.

"Then…what choice do we have?" Dragger followed with Striker at his side.

"We're all going to die…" Axel grumbled as he tagged along.

Zero stood in place and turned to stare into the woods. "Too bad you couldn't be here…" he mumbled to himself before rushing right behind his brothers.

From the depths of the woods, a groaning sound could be heard from the cracking hole in the space continuum.


	25. Changing the Tides of War

**YES! Everyone I'm back! Sorry for not updating for a while. Life hasn't been as simple as I thought it would be...but everything's okay! So I want to let everyone know that my writing would be coming to a close with these next epic chapters, so hold on to your seats! (If you don't think it is, then you really don't know any humor) And let this be an early Christmas gift to everyone! Hope finals went well for those who had taken it.**

**Note: These chapters have been inspired and corrected and helped by the_ninja_that_failed. So make sure you thank this author!**

Chapter 25: Changing the Tides of War

"Jagger!" Shadow shouted as he charged towards the fallen brother.

Shadow gently placed Naruto to the ground before side-tackling Sasuke in order to catch Jagger.

"Jagger! Jagger!" Shadow whispered in his brother's ear. "Hey…come on. Wake up, Jagger."

Jagger lies motionless in Shadow's arms as he kept shaking him awake.

"It's no use…he's out…" Naruto said as he slowly got to his feet.

"He can't be dead…he can't…" Shadow growled lowly as his entire body began to shake uncontrollably with rage.

"I said he's out. I didn't say that he was dead…You can feel his pulse, can't you?"

Shadow placed a finger against Jagger's throat and felt his heart beating softly and slowly. "Yeah…but it's getting weaker."

"I can take care of that." Naruto formed a cross with his fingers. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

A smoke appeared besides Naruto, where an exact clone of him materialized. The clone walked up to Shadow and lifted Jagger to his feet while slinging his arm over his shoulder.

"I may not be a medical ninja, but I can take Jagger to Tsunade. She'll heal him as much as she can." the cloned Naruto said.

"I'll come along…" Razorclaw croaked as he finally limped on his good feet towards the ninja. "He'll need someone to watch over him if an assassin comes after his head."

Shadow nodded his head and turned to see Sasuke preparing another strike at them.

"Go…now!" he commanded coldly.

The Naruto clone and Razorclaw (with Jagger) sprinted through the woods towards the Village. Shadow stepped forwards towards Sasuke before Naruto stopped him by extending his arm. He looked at his golden-haired brother in confusion. Raising an eyebrow to question Naruto's motives, he continued to stare at his older brother.

"Let me handle Sasuke." Naruto said as he placed his entire body in front of Shadow in order to avoid any protest, or objection.

Following his brother's explanation, Shadow nodded his head and stalked forward to Kabuto. "Whatever you say, Naruto-niisan."

Unaware of the constant earthquakes created by the three massive creatures above, the four ninjas stood in place as they each prepared for the great battle ahead. The fight began with Kabuto summoning another snake and Naruto lunging at Sasuke with his spiraling Rasengan.

* * *

Lasers whizzed slightly by us as we continued to close the distance between us and our destroyed headquarters. Odd leaped onto one of the Krabs and fired upon the Tarantulas below. Yumi and Aelita teamed up to dematerialized the Creepers and the Mantas above the roof of the old factory. As for Franz and Jeremie, they were constantly opening fire on the Kankrelots from the covering of a stone wall formed by one of those bodyguards that Shadow had assigned to me. I heard that he was a Demon Brother named Dragger. It's not like I know what "Demon Brothers" are or what they are doing, but I trust that they happen to be on our side at the moment. Simultaneously, I had scaled up the structure of the bridge in order to reach one of the enormous arms of the Kolossus.

'Man…this isn't good…' _What? The jump or the fall? _'Both!' _Then just jump! _'Want to switch?'

Shakingly leaning over the edge of the rail, I leaped and stretched my hand outward to grasp onto one of the bulging artillery on the Kolossus. Grunting from the sudden impact, I waited a while to calm down my system before finally pulling myself up towards the central command center. Once I had stabilized my footing at the peak of the Kolossus's shoulder, I searched around for an opening into the command center.

'Where is it? It's got to be somewhere around here.'

I roamed slowly around the area, but was careful not to lose my footing. My eyes darting frantically for the entrance as I kept my ears on constant alert for any sudden movement. Suddenly, I jerked forward and nearly lost my grip if I hadn't hooked a line tightly on the end of an artillery laser. Slamming against the side of the Kolossus and dangling upside down, I noticed that the Kolossus was on the move.

'Not good! XANA's already releasing the Kolossus?'

Trying futilely to untie the grappling line, I noticed a slight glimpse of a dark, metallic door to my left. Releasing my hold on the rope, I allowed myself to continue dangling freely.

'So that's where you're hiding…' _How'd you expect us to reach it? It's approximately 10 meters away… _'Hm…let's try this.'

Forcing chakra into my hands, I swung my feet to gain some momentum towards the door. The first attempt was too close, but the rope was too short.

'Guess this isn't going to work…' _Try again, but this time…use my chakra. _

With brute force, I swung myself again while pulling on Fang's chakra. Unfortunately, the rope snapped and I felt myself plummeting downwards. Panicking, I tried to slow my momentum down by grasping onto any bulging surface of the Kolossus. Luckily, I had formed enough chakra in my hand from Fang that it prevented me from crashing down to my grave. I swung myself upwards and smashed through the door. Releasing a breath of relief, I rushed through the corridor to XANA.

'Game over, XANA…'

* * *

"Sasuke!" Naruto roared with a charged, spinning Rasengan.

"Chidori!" Sasuke countered with his chidori, ignoring Naruto's scream.

Both skidded a few feet away before ramming at each other again. The impact would have blasted anyone or anything within a 20-feet radius into oblivion, which was fortunate for Shadow. Naruto sidestepped Sasuke's sword lunge and landed a grazed left hook against Sasuke's temple. In turn, Sasuke backpedaled and kicked Naruto across the field. Recovering from the counter, Naruto darted his eyes to view Shadow and saw a mass of shinobis heading in his brother's direction.

"Shadow!" Naruto shouted, but was interrupted when Sasuke charged at him headfirst.

They both hurtled towards the forest and out of the open battlefield.

"Shadow!" Naruto yelled before disappearing from sight.

* * *

Shadow smashed through the ground, creating a massive crater as Kabuto kneeled softly downward next to him. Painfully picking himself up, Shadow panted heavily and stared deathly at his opponent.

"Is this how strong you really are? Cause it's pathetic…and a waste of my time. A student of the past Hokages is at this level? Pathetic…you're weaker than I had expected." Kabuto scorned.

Shadow slowly controlled his breathing while healing the chakra lines that Kabuto had cut off with his medical jutsu. Concentrating on Kabuto's weak points, he studied each one, but was still baffled.

"He has many weak points opened, but…it looks like he trained his reflexes to defend them. So why are they all opened? He's smart…but he has something under his sleeve. If it so happens that he does have something under his sleeve, then this battle wouldn't end too well…not with my limiter still on the max." Shadow thought to himself.

"Shadow!" Shadow heard Naruto shout desperately.

Turning to look in Naruto's direction, I saw the shocked look in his eyes as he was hurtled out of the playing field.

"What's he…" Shadow thought before realization struck him.

Appearing suddenly before him in a mass circle were the people whom he thought would never ever see again. Scanning each face around him, Shadow stared in confusion and surprise. Their eyes were clouded with pitch darkness, their limbs clung to their sides like soulless puppets, and their speech was still the same as it was before in his past. Shadow stared at one particular shinobi in the eye with confusion and plea.

"You can't be…you…" Shadow thought to himself.

"Shadow…" the shinobi groaned. "Please…stop us."

"Zabuza…" Shadow whispered.

Turning his rage at Kabuto, he snarled with anger. "What did you…"

"I've only brought back a few friends and invited them to the party. Hope you don't mind." Kabuto smirked in a malice response.

"I'm going to tear your throat out!" Shadow roared and lunged for Kabuto.

Little did he know, a dark figure appeared simultaneously behind him with a blade in full swing.


	26. To Each Their Struggle

**Alright, everyone! Another update! Sorry if I haven't been updating as regularly as I should, but school's a killer! But I hope everyone enjoys this chapter...for now. The ending's on the way. So expect the unexpected from the Lyoko gang and the ninjas.**

To Each Their Own Struggle

Slowly creeping along the hallway, I passed through steaming pipes and wires. The dark clouds entwined with each other, leading down a dark hallway with many flashing lights. When I finally turned the corner, I stilled in place. 'This isn't good…'

Sitting on the throne of mechanical parts was none other than XANA. His posture was that of an invincible and noble tyrant with hands grasping on the arms and his feet planted firmly on some shattered metallic plating. The aura around him was menacing and piercing with chills to the bones. His appearance was the same as me, but there were markings over his entire face. 'That mark..'

"Is our birthmark." XANA said, opening his eyes. "Have you come to see me, little brother? Or is it for…something useless like protecting this pathetic world of yours?"

"I'm NOT your brother!" I snarled.

"Hm…you just won't accept it, would you?" XANA sighed as he rose from his throne.

'His voice really irritates me!' I unsheathed my blades, which Shadow gave to me before I left through the dimensional portal.

"You dare draw your swords against your big brother?" XANA raised his eyebrow with boredom and interest in the sudden action.

"Why wouldn't I? It's just like old times, isn't it?" I charged at him and leaped into the air using the first step as leverage. I drew the sword downward (in a sharp, wide slash) upon XANA, but he held up a finger and blocked the dual blades. 'Not again!'

"So weak…" he tossed me far against the wall of the chamber. "Don't tell me you've been wasting an entire month doing absolutely nothing against me. Oh, wait…you were training. Too bad…guess it was all placed to waste."

"Don't…look…down at…me! I strained as I got to my knees, using my katana for support.

"I already am…and always have been." He formed an electrical orb in his hand, which was charging with black, vicious aura. "Now I will no longer be your lower."

He launched the orb at me and eventually, everything turned dark.

* * *

"Where's Ulrich?" yelled Yumi as she finished taking out another round of Tarnatulas.

"I don't know! He was here a few moments ago!" answered Aelita as she blew a Manta off Striker's back.

"Oh no…" whispered Yumi as she turned to watch the Kolossus start towards the city. "XANA's heading towards town!"

'We've got to stop it!" Franz ordered.

"How?" Odd questioned.

"Easy." Jeremie pulled out his laptop from his travel pack and punched in some data. "We lead it to the power plant that is at least 10 miles from here." He turned his screen for everyone to see.

"10 miles?" Odd asked in shock.

"Can we make it?" Yumi wondered.

"I'm not sure…" Jeremie sadly replied.

"Is there no other way?" Aelita asked.

Jeremie slowly nodded his head and stared at the computer screen.

"Looks like we don't have a choice." Franz stood next to Jeremie. "Let's go for it."

* * *

Striker landed a few feet from the group and strolled up towards them along with his brothers.

"Now what?" huffed Axel.

"We need a distraction." Jeremie exclaimed.

"Distraction? For what?" Dragger asked.

Yumi stood up and pointed towards the charging Armageddon. "That."

Zero raised his eyebrow and whistled. "You're kidding, right? You want us to play with Armageddon?"

Odd shot up to his feet. "Yeah! Fun, huh?"

"Yeah…a blast." Striker sarcastically remarked.

"So…can you do it?" Aelita kindly wondered.

"If we do say that we can…not that we can, of course. Then what would you guys do?" Zero questioned.

"We'll be setting up a trap at a power plant." Yumi answered.

"And exactly how FAR is that?"

"About 10 miles."

"Can you make it by foot? I mean…this distraction thing might not last as long as you may think it would." Axel explained.

"We're going to have to try." Jeremie confidently said.

The brothers looked at one another. Each with a look of distrust and uneasiness. With a quick nod, they began to group up.

"Hold on a minute." Dragger said to the gang before filling in the last gap in the huddle.

"We can't allow them to run 10 miles to the power plant! They won't make it!"

"True. Especially when XANA's monsters are going to be roaming around the city, looking for them."

"What I think is that this plan is bullshit! There's no way this is going to work…at all!"

"And what if it does?"

"It wouldn't! Look at the possibilities. It's a one in a million chance that we can even keep that thing down long enough for them to get to the power plant."

"How would you know? This is the best shot we got!"

"No, it isn't! It's suicide!"

"Hey! Calm down! Let's look at things in another perspective then."

"If we do agree…what can we do? Our powers are pretty much low now. I can barely even ignite flames on my fingertips now."

"Yeah…no thanks to these limiters!"

"What about those artilleries that Shadow and Leo brought at the base camp?"

"Too far. We probably wouldn't get those in time."

"Where are they?"

There was a bit of silence between the warriors, which caused greater tension among them.

"You got to be kidding me! No one knows where the base camp is?"

"Well, Dragger was suppose to remember!"

"Why are you blaming me? I didn't know that this world had so many trees that looked alike!"

"Since when did trees look alike to you?"

"Guys…GUYS! This is getting us nowhere!"

"Fine then! How about this? Half of us distract Big and Ugly while the other half takes those kids to the power plant and quickly retrieve those damn weapons."

"I find many flaws in that plan. First…"

"Who cares! It's not like anything matters at this moment!"

"And if we don't find those weapons?"

"Does that really matter now?"

"YES!"

"Whatever! We could just grab some flash bombs from the nearest supermarket!"

"Flash bombs at supermarkets? What has this world become?"

The other brothers groaned and broke up the useless huddling.

"Sorry, we had a few technical issues." Striker apologized.

"Yes…we can see that." Franz remarked while the others struggled to hold down a snicker.

"Anyways…" Zero interrupted the awkward silence.

We'll join you to the power plant." Axel continued.

"But…" Yumi argued.

"While we get down to business with a friend of ours." Striker and Zero said in unison.

"Let's move out!" Dragger commanded, getting on all fours to summon his shift.

* * *

"Too close." I breathed under my breath as I hung tightly to my lifeline.

After XANA had launched his bomb at me, I had luckily clung onto one of the wires slashed from the impact. The bomb had knocked some debris from the control room of the Kolossus. Unfortunately, it had cut me a little on my right side.

"Still there?" XANA asked from above in the entrance hole of the control chamber.

"Not good." I calculated as I braced myself from the ongoing bursts of wind, which was caused by the movement of the Kolossus traveling to the town. I searched around for a small opening, or hideout, to conceal myself. There was another opening, but it was at least 20 feet away from me.

"You got to be kidding me!" I muttered to myself.

"Ulrich." XANA called.

'What am I going to do?' _Take the risk. _'It's too far! And the ledge is too low.' _Would you rather deal with XANA? Like this? _'I hate it when you're right…' _Your point? _'I'd rather not think about it.'

I took a split second to rationalize my decision, but couldn't think of any reasons than to not die by XANA's hands. I held my breath and thought about my friends: Jeremie, Princess, Odd, Franz…Yumi. My mind lingered about the thought of Yumi before my mentally slapped myself to concentrate. With a quick mental prayer, I let go.

* * *

Naruto fell deep into the icy, cold waters of the river that Sasuke had dragged him to. Desperate to return to Shadow, Naruto plunged out of the river and rammed right into Sasuke. They hurtled through the air and collided into a jagged stone cliff. Stifling the jolting pain, they fell into the water again. Naruto emerged to the surface, gasping for air. His eyes dilating to adjust against his water-filled vision as he took in the lightened area.

"Sasuke…" Naruto growled under his breath.

He pulled himself out of the water while focusing his chakra to balance himself onto the water surface. Quickly surveying the area, Naruto calmed his mind to strategize his next attack.

"You shouldn't lower your guard so quickly." A whisper spoke near his ear. "Naruto!"

Naruto turned to counter, but was too late as flames engulfed him.

* * *

**Hope everyone enjoys. Please review and let me know how it's going so far.  
As for Shadow...I think I'm going to put him off for the moment. So don't expect much from him for the next few chapters. :P**


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